Rockets & Space Ships (1953)

Rockets and Spaceships was one of the first English children's "space" books I found. It has unique painted color illustrations that look very different from the Bonestellian ones I was used to in American books.

Hollinson, Harry. Illustrated by Butler, Leslie and Bayly, Cecil. Rockets and Space Ships. London : Perry Colour Books Ltd. (44 p.) 19 cm. "Do You Know" series. 1953

In my continued collecting I found it seems to be one of the earliest British children's books solely on spaceflight. The text focuses on the history of spaceflight, rocket theory, and first steps to the Moon.



The book was reprinted so here is the original and the more generic looking reprint side by side:

It has 20 color paintings of rockets, space stations, space suits and man landing on the Moon. Images of rockets are "non-Bonestellian" and almost romantic in style.


I really like the illustrations in this book, especially this one:

I have never seen another illustration of a bicycle in space. Being a bike commuter, I have thought of making this one into a t-shirt. I also appreciate a different take on the round space station.

This book gives a friendlier version of what life in space would be like. The rounded illustration style seems gentler than the usually angular engineering illustrations.

A lovely small book well worth hunting down.