Original color painting of a proposed design for the Apollo 7 mission patch by artist Alan Stevens, 9.5 x 9.5, featuring a red, orange, and white phoenix rising from the ashes against a dark blue background. The triangular design features a lighter blue border with a star at each point, with each side having the name of a crew member, “Eisele,” “Cunningham,” and “Schirra.” Nicely matted and framed to an overall size of 16.25 x 16.25. In fine condition. In his book All-American Boys, Cunningham explained symbolism of this design, saying, ‘It was our original intention to emphasize the first manned Apollo (Gus Grissom's flight) and the recovery from the fire on the pad aspects as well. We considered a spacecraft rising from a ball of fire and calling it the Phoenix,’ but they later abandoned the theme, fearing that NASA would feel it was in bad taste and reject the idea. The final patch, showing a module orbiting the earth, was also created by Stevens based on one of Cunningham’s ideas. A unique piece of behind-the-scenes artwork for a patch that tied together the tragedy of Apollo 1 with the success of the later Apollo missions. RR Auction COA.
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