To The Moon By Rocket Ship (1940)

 

A bit of obscure ephemera today. In 1940 the Fels Planetarium in Philadelphia had a program they called "To the Moon by Rocket Ship." It was a program for adults and children describing the science of what it would be like to go to the Moon. It also explored the formation of craters (thought volcanic at the time.) They also sold this souvenir booklet of the program.

So from a hot summer night some 85 years ago we take you on an exploration of the Moon.

Franklyn Institute. To The Moon by Rocket Ship. Philadelphia, PE: Fels Planetarium.  (10 p.) Aug and Sept 1940. 

Bugs Bunny's Rocket to The Moon (1949)

 

Something a little more fun today. Bugs Bunny's Rocket to the Moon is complete and silly fiction.  Post WW II rockets were a lot more real to the public. They also were more real to children. So here is an inaccurate trip to the Moon.

There is an interesting line exploring when does "science fiction" change to "science fact?"  In 1949 there were children's books about how to build model rockets. There were science fiction magazines on the newsstands. And in just 2 years there will be television show for kids about "space heroes."  So silly as Bugs Bunny is, it is fun to see how kids imagination about what might not be fiction changes.

Bugs Bunny’s Rocket to The Moon. (Premium from Quaker Puffed Wheat and Puffed Rice cereals.) Hollywood, CA: Warner Brothers Cartoons. (30 p.) 1949. 

Jimmy and The Spaceship (1949)

 

To continue my obscure "space fiction" I have Jimmy and the Spaceship to share with you. This was a very small "pocket book" of a comic strip. There were other "Jimmy and the...." books but I really enjoyed reading this one.

It reads like the typical space story but has its own "shock" ending. I hope you like this obscure bit of early fiction about a trip to the moon.

Main, Neville. Jimmy and The Spaceship. London: Brockhampton Press. (30 p.) 1949. 

Bozo and His Rocket Ship -Capitol Record-Reader (1947)

 

Here an old piece of "rocket" ephemera. Back when there were these big black round things called "records," there were children's record-readers. My mom had some of these from here childhood so I actually read some of them. You would put a stack of records on (this one had 4 sides) and then you would turn the pages as the songs and voices on the record told you to. You could have a story read to you! 

So this is not a space related item in any way, but rather an example how rockets were the new thing for children in the late 40s and early 50s. Bozo the Clown (Google him) got into the whole thing with his rocket ship ride around the world. I could not resist sharing this very campy piece of ephemera with you all.

Bozo and His Rocket Ship.  Text by Walter Hannan. Illustrated by Cecil Beard and Norman McCabe. Capitol Records DBX 118. 36 p. 2 lps. 1947.