Rocket to the Moon (1950s?)

This is a single page from a comic story. Not sure when this was published. Probably drawn and written by Walter (Wally) Robertson (1896-1975) and appeared in a British Children's annual sometime between 1951 and 1957.

I am even unsure of the title of this strip so corrections are welcome. It has Rocket to the Moon written in faint pencil at the top,

For all that uncertainty, it represents an archetype of children's comics and stories about space.The story of: mad scientist/father/uncle invents a spaceship/rocket fuel and invites children to participate in a trip to the moon. This is not only the plot of countless comic stories but also of Heinlein's  Rocket Ship Galileo .

The whole page looks like this:

As you can see the page is filled edge to edge with art so to show this panel by panel I had to scan it in a variety of shapes.  Images like these were part of my imagination about what a trip into space would be like for me. It also reinforced the idea that children SHOULD go to the moon rather than boring adults who would not appreciate it. Let me outline the lessons this story gives us.

It will take new technologies to get to the moon. Probably some new innovation in increasing the power of the rocket or reducing the weight of the rocket.

 When the technology is understood spaceflight will be "as safe as in your bed"

There in no gravity in space so you will need to find ways and technologies to adjust to a new environment.

The Earth will look smaller from space as you leave it. Also at the time they are not sure why the Moon looks as it does, there were still discussion whether craters were caused by meteors or vulcanism

What would the Earth look like from the Moon? Are meteors still a danger when we travel in space?

 You will need a space suit to visit the moon and a source of oxygen.

We may use robots to help us explore the Moon.

Spaceport U.S.A. (1953) :The art

For those of you who aren’t interested in collector’s stories just regard this as a rerun.  Back in 2010 I posted some scans of Spaceport U.S.A. (1953). It was an early punch-out book from Whitman and had a nice space theme.  I had not seen a copy for sale before so I was thrilled to find the damaged and used copy.  Copies of this in nicer condition seem to sell for hundreds of dollars so it made sense to me that it was pretty obscure.

http://dreamsofspace.blogspot.com/2010/10/spaceport-usa-1953.html

One of the interesting things about collecting that I have learned (but others will tell you) is that you are always learning as you collect.  By seeing (and shopping) you learn what is rare, what is common, and what is obscure.  You develop an ability to recognize something that seems different or better yet mislabeled J

So this is a brag about an unexpected item I got myself for Xmas, the original art (at least some of) to Spaceport U.S.A.

I do look for inexpensive space art in the different auction houses.  Most of the time I can’t come close to affording it but it is nice to see and as I said you are always learning.  From my blog you can tell that what I really would like to find is the art from some of the children’s books I have. I blogged about some of the pieces I have found but they have been few and far between.

These images were advertised “Space Exploration Paper Doll Book Illustration Original Art Group (undated).” So I knew where they were from and when they were published. Since this was an obscure book it was possible that I was the only person bidding who knew what they were.  That is probably why my bid for these originals won for less than the cost of buying a copy of the original punch-out book!

It is also possible that they seemed too unattractive for anyone to frame but I had them up on my wall within hours of opening them on Xmas day.  There is something about an original surviving for 60 years that carries it own special sense of history. These delicate watercolors were done by someone who had barely seen rockets take off or even imaged if a Moon base would ever be real. Beautiful hidden history. I am not sure if having the original art changes how much I enjoy these images but it does remind me what an artist faces every time they have a blank sheet of white and try to imagine how they could fill it with something no one has ever seen.

Rockets and Space Travel (1956)

The month of January is flying (rocking?) by. Here is a cool pamphlet from Britain.

Allward, Maurice F and Taylor, John W. R. Illustrated by Taylor, John W. R. ABC Rockets and Space Travel. London : Ian Allan. (64 p.) 19 cm. Softcover 1956.  Part of the "ABC Aircraft Books" series.

Filled with black and white drawings and pictures it is a basic guide to rocket theory and current rocket developments.  The ABC Aircraft Books series was one of those trainspotter-type of pamphlets for those who liked that sort of thing.

Another one to get more scans from when I dig it out of the archives.

Space Medicine (1951)

An adult book rather than a child's but significant in the history of the promotion of spaceflight. On March 3, 1950 a conference was held about "space medicine". This was one of the first professional conferences to explore how humans might react to the spaceflight environment. This book is a collection of some of the experts who presented at that conference.

Marbarger, John Porter. Space medicine; the human factor in flights beyond the earth. Urbana, IL:  Univ. of Illinois Press, 1951.

 

In fact this may have been the first "popular" book about space biology. Here is an illustration speculating what kind of plants might be on Mars.

 

Looking Into Science-The booklets (1965)

 

More cool space in school stuff.  In the 1960s in California they would not only have space stuff in science textbooks, they would break up the chapters into separate booklets for the class to study.  Here is a set of the booklets derived from the 1965 textbook "Looking Into science" above. I love the design on these covers and think you will too.

 



 

Colliers Part 3 : Oct 25, 1952

The 3rd part of the 8 part Colliers space series has been put online in the Nov/Dec issue of IAAA Houston Newsletter "Horizons".  This one covers the second Moonlanding issue: "More about man on the Moon". This are the best digital versions of these illustrations you will ever see. Be sure to check them out.

http://www.aiaahouston.org/newsletter/

A Trip to Outer Space with Santa (1952)

Always grab the good stuff even if it is in poor condition. I had not seen this comic before and having been saving it for my Christmas post this year.  It has been a very long and complicated year for me with many joys and disappointments.  But the holidays are finally here and life seems to be settling down.

Here are my past Xmas postings:

The Moon Christmas Coloring Book (1970)
http://dreamsofspace.blogspot.com/2012/01/moon-christmas-coloring-book-1970.html

Woolworth's Jolly Christmas Book (1951)
http://dreamsofspace.blogspot.com/2012/01/moon-christmas-coloring-book-1970.html

A Trip to Outer Space with Santa was a 1952 department store give-away. A department store could print their own logo on a comic and give it to their customers.

The story is very simple (maybe the inspiration for Santa Claus vs the Martians?) where Santa needs to go to Mars.



Santa seems to have a lot of problems getting the toys made so Mars seems like a logical solution.  Since space flight was trendy among children at the time, the comics has a space game in the middle about the journey to Mars.

The drawings show the Buck Rogers future is on Mars. The other thing that charms me about this item is the space suits and Santa ship. Here is your own Christmas ornaments!  Illustrations you can (print-out) and cut-out to make your own explorer and ship.

Santa finds what he needs on Mars, (imported labor) and I love the  Martians with jet packs heading home.





I hope you have a grand holiday and are with those you love.  I will see you again in 2013 with more cool space stuff.