«Gemini 4 · First Spacewalk» patch

A round, embroidered patch for the Gemini 4 mission: red field, turquoise border, in the middle the astronaut on his umbilical beside the capsule. Lettered «GEMINI 4 · FIRST SPACEWALK», with the names McDIVITT and WHITE.

Gemini 4 flew in June 1965 with James McDivitt and Edward White. White left the capsule on 3 June 1965 — the first spacewalk by an American, a good twenty minutes, held only by the supply line. The very first spacewalk had been made by Alexei Leonov barely three months earlier; the wording on the patch therefore follows the American count. It is exactly that line and the capsule that are embroidered here.

Fully embroidered, the edge cleanly bound, the back uncoated — for sewing on, not ironing on. Whether it is a period piece or a later run is written nowhere on it, and so I do not claim it.

• Embroidered patch, round
• Red with turquoise border
• «GEMINI 4 · FIRST SPACEWALK», McDivitt / White
• Back uncoated, for sewing on
• Age not confirmed

Used. Embroidery complete, edge closed. The red field is lighter in places and slightly spotted, a few fibres stand up. None of that shows on a jacket.