An original (not modern reprint) 8x10" vintage photo from an archive of original Nixon Administration wire press photos issued by the Associated Press (Wide World Photos). Markings on some of the photos in this set indicate that this was a working set of photos used for publication. This is a silver gelatin print. Professionally packaged in a rigid mailer for safe delivery.

Photo Overview

Three Soviet citizens stand outside the U.S. embassy in Moscow on May 21, 1971, studying a glassed-in display of photographs of President Richard M. Nixon and his earlier visit to the USSR and other nations, along with a central sign announcing Nixon’s upcoming arrival in Moscow on May 22 during his historic Cold War trip. Shot on the street from behind the onlookers, the image captures a propaganda-style embassy photo board featuring multiple images of Nixon, including a prominent portrait, as Muscovites pause to read the announcement that “NIXON IS COMING.”

Nixon’s 1971 Soviet visit was a precursor to his landmark 1972 Moscow summit, where he met Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and signed the first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I), a major step in easing Cold War tensions. Photos documenting how ordinary Soviet citizens encountered U.S. messaging around Nixon’s trips are sought after as visual evidence of superpower diplomacy and media influence inside the USSR. Add this powerful Cold War wire photo to your collection today before another history-minded buyer does.

Text Present

Front - top attached caption strip:
(MOS-13)MOSCOW, May 19-NIXON IS COMING-Three Muscovites ponder photographs in a new display on wall of the U.S. embassy in Moscow Friday. The sign in center announces that President Richard M. Nixon will arrive in the USSR on May 22. The photos show Nixon during a previous trip to Moscow, and to other nations. Nixon is scheduled to leave the U.S. Saturday for Salzburg, Austria, and to arrive in Moscow on Monday. (AP Wirephoto by cable from Moscow)(hmb61640stf) 1971

Back:
(no additional legible text)

Print analysis:
Silver gelatin wirephoto printed on typical thin newsprint-style photo paper with an original AP caption slug pasted to the front and datelined May 19, 1971, indicating contemporary processing from the transmitted image. Overall characteristics and provenance from a Nixon Administration AP wire press archive support this as a Type 1 original press photo, printed in 1971 for newspaper editorial use.

Condition: Print is in good to excellent condition. As this image originates from a working archive, some of the photos in this collection have colored crayon production notes. Please see photos for details.