We thought selling mixtapes was illegal; this one has a $200 price tag. Included in an upcoming auction of Apollo 14 artifacts, is an original Apollo 14 mixtape.
Flown cassette tape and case carried into lunar orbit by Edgar Mitchell. Scotch C-60 cassette was dubbed with music from the Beatles, Blood Sweat and Tears, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Marvin Gaye, James Taylor, and Simon and Garfunkel and bears a serial number “S/N 1099.” Cassette is signed on one side in black felt tip, “Flown A14 Edgar Mitchell.”
Accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Mitchell, which reads, in part: “This letter is to certify that the accompanying audio cassette tape bearing music by artists Simon and Garfunkel, The Beatles, James Taylor plus others was personally dubbed by me from the primary recordings of the several artists and carried into lunar orbit aboard the spacecraft Kittyhawk [sic] during the Apollo 14 mission to the Fra Mauro Highlands region of the moon. It was one of four such cassettes in my personal preference kit, all of which served the dual purpose of providing entertainment during the six days in transit between the earth and the moon, plus a back up recording device for personal observations in the event of equipment failure of primary transmission devices.” In fine condition, with some light wear and foxing to labels. Classic songs flown include, among others: ‘Spinning Wheels,’ ‘ Looking Out My Backdoor,’ ‘Heard it Through the Grapevine,’ ‘Something,’ ‘Here Comes the Sun,’ ‘Who Will Stop the Rain,’ and ‘Homeward Bound.’ Also accompanied by a CD of the songs on the cassette and a photo of Mitchell holding the cassette. All the items are housed in a custom clam shell case. Certainly one of the more original flown space items. Pre-certified Steve Zarelli and RR Auction COA.
