Rockets and Space Coloring Book (1960)

Some nice space pictures (to color) for you today.  Coloring books may be one of the ultimate forms of ephemera. There were meant to be used, admired? and then thrown away. Yet many children owned them and there were at least 40 issued between 1950 and 1970 on space themes. If pictures are a universal communication then these children got a lot of input about what their future in space would look like. This particular one is full of futuristic dreams of what space flight might be from the viewpoint of the beginning of our men into space programs.

Rockets and Space Coloring Book. New York: Treasure Books. (51 p.) 1960. 

This first batch seems to be copied from older 50's space images

This image on the right above seems a little odd. It can't be on the Moon since there is a helicopter.  What is the palm tree doing in the loading of the lunar ship? Does it leave from the tropics? Does it launch "single stage direct?"

This image above also needs more explanation. Is this a Russian launch system? I don't remember it.

"Ready for take-off" to aim at targets on Earth?

That spaceship has a really big window

Gumby and Pokey Coloring Book (1966)

 

Since part of this blog is reliving the joys of my childhood I need to talk about Gumby and Pokey. Gumby was a television show for children that ran (at least for me) from 1955-1969 (Gumby returned to television in 1988 for another 100 episodes.) It was stop-motion animated adventures of two figures made of "clay." It was a highlight of my youth because of its emphasis on imagination. There would be all kinds of adventures but my favorite were when they would go inside books to experience the books adventures. I was an early and avid reader so this was an exciting idea to me. So when Gumby and Pokey had space flight adventures I was captivated. So these drawings from the coloring book are pretty primitive but still bring back some great memories.

Gumby on the Moon -https://youtu.be/eJDJ1ALa9Eo

Gumby-Moon Trip (1956)- https://youtu.be/wt87rvCPViQ

Gumby and Pokey Coloring Book (Whitman #1141). Drawings by Ben Greenberg. Whitman Press. 1966.

Away We Go Coloring Book (1960)

 

Another coloring book inspiring children to dream of space and the adventures they might have.

Away We Go. Illustrated by E. Dills. Sandusky, OH : Stephens Publishing Co. 32 p. 1960.

To the Stars (1960)

 

To the Stars is a children's coloring book. Each page has a color illustration and the opposite page has a black and white outline of the art for the child to color in. The book is about how people learned to reach for space and I find the illustrations charming and kind of unique for the older technology.

Artist: A. Sedov. To the stars. Moscow : Children's World Publishing. 20 p. 1960.

Space Colouring Book (1965?)

Here is a very nice coloring book from Japan. With no text it is hard to tell if it was totally orignal drawings or based some existing show or toy.  The format was one pre-colored page next to one page for the child to color.

Space Colouring Book. Japan. 1965? (14 pp.)

 Here is an example of the side by side pages, one coloring page and one guide page already colored.

 Some of these look like Manga ships and others like Von Braun's.

 I love the variety of vehicles shown.