This is a collection of commemorative material for various American and Soviet manned spaceflight programs, including Apollo, Soyuz, Vostock, and Skylab missions. It is chiefly a collection of photographic prints, magazine clippings, and correspondence, with some photos and letters signed by astronauts and/or cosmonauts. Each collection is accompanied by philatelic material, including first day covers, individual stamps, and souvenir sheets and/or blocks. Contents were originally arranged in binders labeled by mission and/or astronaut. Stamps in the collection represent many countries.

Joseph M. Schneider lived in Zürich, Switzerland where most of his collecting took place. He sent complimentary copies of these compiled collections to the astronauts and received letters in return. Most of the correspondence is in the English language, but some material is in the German language. Schneider made these binders available for purchase and his inventories and catalog are in this collection.

At some point in its history, Schneider’s collection made its way to the United States, specifically to the Prince of Peace Abbey in Oceanside, California. It was donated to the Museum in 2014. Archivists Katrina Pescador and Alan Renga retrieved the material from the Abbey.

Link to the collection's finding guide.

Link to images from this collection on Flickr.