Unparalleled archive from Dr. William K. Douglas, a U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel who, on April 1, 1959, was selected as the personal physician for America?s first astronauts, the ?Mercury Seven.? Douglas was the astronauts? physician for the next three years, working out of Florida's Patrick Air Force Base for the Office of the Assistant for Bioastronautics at the Air Force Missile Test Center. His daily pattern of life would simulate that of the seven astronauts and he would endure much of the rigorous testing they were subjected to, leading some to call him the ?eighth astronaut.?
This one-of-a-kind collection of well over 300 items spans from the earliest days of manned space flight through the historic Apollo era, offering a treasure trove of insider documentation, original medical records, rare signatures, official manuals, and confidential astronaut selection and training materials. Among its many highlights is a 1959 Holiday Inn currency note signed by all seven Mercury astronauts and Marshall Space Flight Center director Wernher von Braun; a stapled ?Project Mercury? booklet signed by all seven Mercury astronauts; an oversized retirement card signed by numerous NASA employees and presented to Douglas in 1988; an original 16mm film reel of John Glenn donning his space suit for the Mercury-Atlas 6 mission on February 20, 1962, which was cut from the original; a rare original Lunar Orbiter I photograph of the first image of the Earth taken from the moon (August 23, 1966), printed by the Patrick Air Force Base; and much more.
Astronaut Medical and Training Documents
- Original EKGs and case records for John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Scott Carpenter, and other Mercury 7 astronauts, detailing their pre-flight and post-flight fitness and conditions.
- Confidential astronaut selection tests and rankings, including the first-ever NASA astronaut selection documents with detailed psychological, physical, and cognitive evaluations of candidates like James Lovell.
- Handwritten personal journals (1959-1963) by Dr. Douglas, containing day-by-day notes on astronaut training, psychological evaluations, and flight preparations, as well as frank personal assessments of the Mercury astronauts, including concerns about Alan Shepard?s reliability and Deke Slayton?s medical issues.
- NASA and USAF training manuals, including Gemini and Apollo astronaut training guides, some signed by Mercury 7 astronauts like Wally Schirra, Frank Borman, and James Lovell.
Signed Photographs and Personal Memorabilia
- Personal letters and signed documents from John Glenn, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton, including a heartfelt note from John Glenn thanking Douglas for his service.
- Signed photograph of John Glenn preparing for his centrifuge tests, dated April 8, 1961, co-signed by his medical team.
- NASA-approved official photographs of Mercury 7 astronauts, including Gus Grissom, Scott Carpenter, Alan Shepard, John Glenn, and Gordon Cooper during training, suiting up, and in-flight operations.
- Approximately two dozen original Life Magazine photographs by Ralf Morse
- Original photographs from Douglas? work with Hubertus Strughold, Wernher von Braun, and Kurt Debus, key figures in early U.S. spaceflight research.
Flight and Mission Documents
- Launch Control assignments for April 27, 1961 (Mercury-Redstone 3 Simulation), detailing astronaut checklists, abort procedures, and ground control responsibilities.
- Mercury-Redstone 4 (Liberty Bell 7) flight plan, astronaut observation instructions, and personal notes from Douglas leading up to Grissom?s near-fatal mission.
- Original Mission data take by Douglas during Mercury training and pre-, mid-, and post-flights.
- Original NASA Press Release for Mercury-Redstone 3 (April 1961) and declassified mission reports on early suborbital flights.
- Detailed records from the Apollo program, including Apollo 7-11 medical concerns and results, presented by Douglas at the XVIII International Congress of Aerospace Medicine in 1969.
Apollo & Mercury Flight Navigation Charts
- Original 1961-1962 Mercury Orbit Charts (MOC-3, MOC-4, MOC-5), showing detailed flight paths for Mercury capsules.
- Apollo 11 and 12 Lunar & Earth Orbit Charts, with flight trajectories, launch windows, and re-entry calculations.
- Rare Engineer Special Study of the Surface of the Moon (1961) ? A set of four detailed lunar maps used in pre-Apollo lunar landing planning.
Film and Audio Recordings
- Over 100+ original photographs taken during the Mercury program, flights, recovery, medical exams, including confidential, naval, large format pictures, many believed to be unpublished.
- Many original archival NASA slides including test flights, NASA briefings on effects on astronauts, Shepard?s chest X-ray, personal Gus Grissum post-flight physical exam from Liberty Bell 7, pre- and post-flight retinal medical photographs of Shepard?s eye.
- 16mm Original NASA Film ? Ocular Nystagmus Data Run Test (1960) ? Featuring John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and others undergoing high-G centrifuge testing.
- Original reel-to-reel recordings from Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo medical debriefings, including Grissom?s MR-4 medical report, press conference audio of Deke Slayton?s removal from MA-7, Shepard?s MR-III capsule recording (May 5, 1961), Aviation Medical Accelerator Laboratory centrifuge (1959), and zero gravity flights ? each 16mm film was professionally cleaned, and a digital copy was made on USB flash drive.
- WHX Weightless Flight Audio Recordings (1959) ? A set of 25 wax audiograph discs featuring early zero-gravity training sessions with Cooper, Schirra, Grissom, Slayton, Shepard, Carpenter, and Douglas.
In overall fine condition. Accompanied by a full printed inventory of the archive and the referenced USB flash drive.
More detailed condition reports are available upon request. Due to the large size of this collection, it will be sold as is, and no returns will be accepted. Interested parties are encouraged to view the collection in person at our offices or call us with specific inquiries.
