Since 1971 I've been collecting "Space Food" -- items that evidence a juxtaposition of Food and Space.

The first object in my collection was a bag of the Pogen Family Bakery's "Space Pogens" -- ginger snaps in the shape of space objects, like Saturn, a crescent moon, a star, a rocket, etc. Once the cookies were gone, I push-pinned the bag into the wall above my drawing board. One day I went to Astro Burger for lunch, and noticed the space theme on their french fry bag; the rest, as they say....

Friends and acquaintances have sent me many swell things over the years; I've traveled to Houston and Cape Canaveral in search of collectibles; and I now have over a dozen cartons of objects, ranging from a six-pack of Apollo ale (and Apollo lager!) to Moon Soup to mugs, plates, lunch boxes, ads, menus, t-shirts, photographs -- and a zillion kinds of candies.

In 1975, to thank my friends who'd supported my fetish and to document the collection, I made 50 copies of a hand-made book. In December of 1979, I produced an edition of 100 silkscreen prints of the above image, in which you'll see some Mars Bars and a special holiday shopping bag from the Mars Market, located in Long Beach, California. I sent many of these prints out as my Christmas card that year. The following year I made another black-and-white print of Astro Pops, reproduced using offset lithography.

I hope one day to more thoroughly document the burgeoning collection. As a nod toward that day, I am putting this image "out there" for you all to enjoy.