[FPSPACE] The man behind the Moon mission patches

[LARRY KLAES]

The man behind the Moon mission patches

The Apollo emblems of artist Al Stevens

by Ed Hengeveld

May 20, 2008 — Sometimes you have to be lucky as a space flight historian. A 
friend, Noah Bradley, purchased on eBay recently a collection of sketches, 
paintings and documents that had belonged to one 'Allen A. Stevens'. That 
name will probably not immediately mean much to space enthusiasts, but his 
artwork is widely recognized.

Born on June 16, 1915 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Al Stevens worked 
during the 1960s and 70s as a graphic designer for the Space Division of 
Rockwell International in California. He retired in 1978 and, after 
suffering from several strokes over a period of 13 years, he died on May 21, 
1994 in Orange, California.

The box that Noah bought contained Stevens' artistic legacy. His belongings 
included various original designs for the emblems from half a dozen Apollo 
missions.

More importantly, the papers that were included provided proof that Stevens 
was the artist behind the final designs for the Apollo 1, Apollo 7, Apollo 9 
and Apollo 10 mission patches. The designer for these emblems had not been 
previously widely publicized.

Full article with early mission patch designs here:

http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-052008a.html