This is an 8" by 10 " double matted, autographed, black and white photo of astronauts- Valentina Tereshkova and Valery Bykovsky. Also in the photo is former Russian leader, Nikita Khrushchev, but he did not sign the photo.
Valentina is a Russian astronaut and was the first woman in space in l963. She flew on Vostok 6. (The first American woman in space was Sally Ride, 20 years later. )
Also in the photo is Valery Bykovsky, another Russian astronaut ,whose Vostok 5 flight was timed to coincide with Tereshkova's. He set a manned duration record. Although this record has been long surpassed, to this day, it remains the space endurance record for a solo flight.
Both have signed the photo in silver sharpie pen. The autographs were obtained in London at the Autographica 2004 show. They are original autographs, not copies. I purchased the photo from the show promoter directly in May of 2006.
The photo has been double matted in black and white to an 11' by 14" size and has an acid free backing board on the back so it is ready to pop into a frame.
If you are a fan of the space program, then this is a great piece of historical memorabilia for you to own.
