SPACESUIT DEVELOPMENT

White PTFE (Teflon)-coated Beta-cloth cover layer with quilted inner lining, approx. 60 inches tall. Large American flag patch to left shoulder, NASA meatball logo patch to right chest, marked "#16" in black pen at inside neck. Front of suit with 6 snap studs to chest area, 4 to crotch area, 1 at back of neck, and 1 to middle of back. Open back, exposed threads from apparent removal of pockets to thighs and arms, 1½ inch diameter hole to front, likely for life support hose, some foxing to outer layer, and staining to inner layer.

Acquired from ILC Dover, ca. 1973

For two excellent histories of spacesuit development, and in particular the development of the A7L, see Monchaux, Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo and Young, Spacesuits: The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Collection. 

Nylon suit with Beta-cloth patches, scattered soiling, tearing, and spotting. Back of suit open with unfinished hems, lined with quilted cotton fabric. Lacking cuff on proper left side, which has been re-hemmed.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The International Latex Corportation, later known as ILC Dover, has been the designer and producer of the space suit pressure garment for NASA since the beginning of the Apollo program. They developed the first highly mobile space suit, the A7L, which made it possible for the astronauts to walk on the moon and in fact, every American astronaut to go into space since the Apollo program did so in an ILC Dover suit. Each full suit took about 5,000 hours to complete, and cost approximately $1,000,000 to produce. The suits were tailor-made for the astronauts, and underwent rigorous testing and painstaking study to get just right.

The Thermal Micrometeoroid Garment (TMG) is the outer layer of a spacesuit, and served three purposes. First, to insulate the astronaut from the extreme cold of space, second, to protect them from solar radiation, and third, to protect them from micrometeoroids that could potentially puncture the suit and cause depressurization.