For me it started out innocently enough, but then it quickly got out of hand. I have been a collector of one thing or another all of my life, so I found it easy to accumulate a pretty good collection in a very short time. First it was manned missions, then payloads, then variations, and so on. Before I knew what happened, I was struggling to find a way to catalogue, display and store what I had so ably gathered from the four corners of the earth.  So, before you read on make sure that you actually want to be consumed by a hobby as addictive as this one is.

The same sound principles used for all good collectors, works as a guideline for collecting space related patches. First and foremost is to do some research on space patches and the history associated with them. There are several good resources that provide the history and background into space mission patches. If I may highlight one in particular, it is the book "Relics of the Space Race", by Russell Still. This book is in its 3rd edition print and is not only an excellent reference for NASA emblems and patches, but also a valuable resource for space program history and it's artifacts in general. This book is available through another valuable resource to the space collecting community, CollectSpace.com.

CollectSpace.com is a fabulous website and community for the space enthusiast with current news, history, and active discussion boards celebrating space history and the collecting of space. You will find a wealth of information on the message board threads about space patch collecting. If you have additional questions, all that is needed is to post your question, and someone will help you.

There are two extremely helpful websites that provide an enormous amount of information about the history and identification of space patches. The first is the awesome website at GeneDorr.com. The Gene Dorr website has outstanding reference material for the Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and ASTP era mission patches. On this site there are detailed image comparisons between the different embroidery companies and the art designs that inspired their creations. The second site recommended is that of Jacques van Oene and Erik van der Hoorn at SpacePatches.nl . Jacques and Erik of the Netherlands have collected and documented space patches since beginning their collections in the mid 80's. They have provided a broad range of information on space program patches throughout the international scene. Their patch index has images of astronaut/cosmonaut crews, mission history, plus artwork and patches from all over the world.

Our next step in harvesting a good crop of patches is deciding on what you would like to collect. Many collectors specialize and collect patches associated with Apollo and the moon landing missions. Others may target the shuttle or all manned space flight missions. There are many great ways to specialize your collection, or you can "go for launch" and collect everything and anything that has to do with the space program and the celebration of space flight. I think that may be where I am!

The most important thing about collecting is to collect what you like. There are many patches that can be had for a few dollars and others that will cost you plenty. Typically if you have patches that are said to be "flown in space", or "owned by the astronaut" they will command premium prices. Ensure if you start down this road in collecting, you know what you're buying and the patch or item comes with provenance from a verifiable source. There are many items from the space program that are faked in authenticity as "flown", "owned", or "signed" by astronauts. Make sure you only buy from reputable sources. Members of the CollectSpace.com message boards most likely can verify reliable collectors and sellers.

Once you have decided on what to collect, you need to use all of your contacts and resources. There are hundreds of patches posted to auction on eBay that will satisfy much of your collecting needs. Bidding can be tricky and you must know what you're after before getting caught up in the fever of a so called "rare" or "vintage" patch. Most eBay space related patches can be found under the categories of "Collectables - Historical Items - Space Program". However, do not limit your search to just this category. Use key words in the search tool to find other listings that may have found homes in other places on eBay. There are many on-line websites that sell space patches also. I have listed many of these under my favorites in the links section found on my home page. Visits to local thrift shops, antique stores, stamp and coin shops, and collector shows are other great areas to find unexpected prizes. If you have the opportunity to visit any of the NASA facilities or museums associated with flight, check out the gift shops for patches they may have to offer.

I have great fun collecting these little bits of space history, and enjoy this opportunity to share my collection with family, friends, and fellow collectors. Please let me know about your collections or contact me if I may be of some help.

SpaceSoupPatches

Lion Brothers Company Inc., of Owings Mills, MD was founded in Baltimore in 1899. They are the world's leading maker of embroidered emblems. The company's clients include some of the most well-known brand names in the word, including Nike, Levi, Champion, Tommy Hifiger, Harley Davidson, Coca-Cola, Girl Scouts of America, Boy Scouts of America, the United States government, U.S. military, as well as many professional sports teams and associations.

The space program was also fortunate enough to have emblems made by the Lion Brothers Company. Emblems or patches were produced for all Apollo era missions, and during many of the early Space Shuttle missions. Collectors in general will pay a premium price to add a patch embroidered by this company to their collections. Lion Brothers is well known for its quality embroidery which is characterized by very thick, multidirectional stitching that often has more stitches per inch than other manufacturers. Rolled edges on patches produced by them are unique in that they do not display an embroidered end tail on the back side of the patch as do patches made by most other embroidery companies. Prior to 1985, Lion Brothers patches could also be distinguished by their white backs with no wax or plastic coating applied.

There continues to be the descriptive word "official" used for these patches, although this is not quite true as explained though the exhaustive research provided by Russell Still in his book "Relics of the Space Race". It seems that AB Emblem of Weaverville, NC was the official maker for NASA mission patches according to official NASA and company documentation that was provided to him for his research. The word "official" and its relationship to NASA approved patches is a very complex subject, and to understand it more completely I would suggest you buy the Russell Still book. It contains a wealth of reference information about collecting space and space history in general.

It is important to note that the general consensus is that the Lion Brothers Company made patches during the time of the actual missions only. When collecting the Lion Brothers version of mission patches, you are getting an actual patch manufactured in the era of the mission. On the other hand, AB Emblems the recognized official manufacturer of NASA patches has continually made patches for missions and reproduces them today. Many have said the quality has suffered as a result of the modern manufacturing process, and that the patches have not held true to the original art design in many instances. I will just say that you should be the judge of what is acceptable in patch quality, and which patches merit a place in your collection.  

My Lion Brothers patch gallery contains images of verified company produced patches. I would certainly like to add a few more images of any patches that can be verified to be genuine Lion Brothers emblems. As discussed earlier, Lion Brothers patches are distinctive in their embroidery, and many of the Apollo era patches have hidden hallmarks sewn into the design. Space shuttle (STS) era patches are a little more difficult to identify in that the hallmarks are not utilized in them. However, the brilliant colors and heavy quality embroidery are excellent reminders of why these patches are special. There seems to be some debate on the issue of coatings applied to the back side of Lion Brothers mission patches.  I do not know if coatings were ever applied by Lion Brothers in this era.  Personally I have not found a patch made by this company prior to 1985 with a wax or plastic coating applied to the back side. As stated earlier, the back sides of the patches all appear to be white and uncoated.

Collectors or anyone with additional knowledge of Lion Brothers emblems and identifications related to their space mission patches, are invited to contact me, and I will add this information as it can be verified. There are several opportunities to learn more about these patches at Spacepatches.nl and GeneDorr.com . Both of these web sites give outstanding detailed descriptions of the Apollo era patched made by Lion Brothers.

Digital images of patches I own are photographed over a black background in each of the patch gallery albums. Images of patches used for reference and are not owned by me, are displayed without a black background when possible, and a notation is placed in the caption. SpaceSoupPatches would appreciate any help in reducing the amount of not owned items depicted here through your help in their acquisition.

Thank you for your interest in my website,

SpaceSoupPatches! 

  Space Patch Gallery Update

I have been very busy replacing and loading new images into the patch gallery over the last few weeks.  The current images are much better than I have previously posted, as I have found different programs to edit them. 

I have added a few more albums to the image gallery so make sure you click on the "Next" page of albums to view all images available. There is a new section behind the "Pardon our Moon Dust", that will feature a visual reference to magazine covers featuring Space exploration. I hope you enjoy the visual history they offer to us.

Several requests were made for an area to post images for "Collect Space" message board members to reference special patches that are current topics of discussions in the "Patch & Pins" threads.  I will be adding this area shortly.

Much of my effort is directed into the Lion Brothers and the Payloads, Science & Satellite image galleries.  As there are several web sites with much better historical information on the Apollo and STS space patches, my intent was to focus on the content and images of the Lion Brothers and Payload Science patches. The Lion Brothers image gallery is complete with what I have to offer at the moment. A few hundred more images will be posted into the Payload gallery section in the coming weeks.

All patch images with a black background are patches in my collection. Images with a white background are important reference patches that other collectors were kind enough to lend images of for reference. I have identified individuals lending their images as part of the patch description when selecting the exploded view screen.

As always, please contact me if you see an error, have a question, or want to offer a patch of interest.

You can view my entire collection in the Patch Gallery .

Good Hunting!

Ron