Early Pioneers (1869 – 1918)
The Brick Moon.
First part of four published in The Atlantic Monthly. Fiction containing the first depiction of the launch of an artificial satellite.
Considérations Sur Les Résultats D’un Allégement Indéfini Des Moteurs.
Published in the Journal de Physique Théorique et Appliquée, 5e série, tome III (Mars 1913). Presents the theoretical bases of self- propulsion, dismisses the notion that propulsion requires air, and develops the equations of rocket flight.
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Robert Esnault-Pelterie
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La Conquête De l’Espace.
French scientific writer. Mostly forgotten, even in France. First edition. The second edition (1925) is also available in this collection.
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Victor Coissac’s La Conquête de l’Espace
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Design Of A Manned Rocket Airplane.
Kibalchich wrote his design for a manned rocket in 1881 and it was published in 1918 by Byloye magazine, years after his execution. Kibalchich’s design is on page 113, a diagram on page 118, and a critique by Nikolai Rynin on page 122.
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Nikolai Kibalchich
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Early Pioneers (1923 – 1928)
Si Può Già Tentare Un Viaggio Dalla Terra Alla Luna?
First technical work on space travel in Italian.
Der Vorstoß In Den Weltenraum.
Presents Oberth’s ideas to the general public. Founder of the VfR (German Society for Space Travel) which Von Braun and Oberth would join.
La Conquête De l’Espace.
Second revised edition. French scientific writer. Mostly forgotten, even in France. The first edition (1916) is also available in this collection.
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Victor Coissac’s La Conquête de l’Espace
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Die Erreichbarkeit Der Himmelskörper.
Development of mathematical theory of orbital mechanics. The “Hohmann Orbit” is named after him.
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Rocket Societies of the 1920s
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Die Fahrt Ins Weltall.
Signed by Ley and N.A. Rynin. From Rynin’s personal library. First publication by Ley, who popularized space travel and worked with Von Braun. The second edition (1929) is also available in this collection.
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Rocket Societies of the 1920s
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Das Raketen-Weltraumschiff.
Popular account of a trip to the Moon.
Die Möglichkeit Der Weltraumfahrt.
Collection of essays by German pioneers of the VfR (rocket society) Debus, Hohmann, Oberth. Two exemplars in the collection.
Raketenfahrt.
Pioneer of space travel. Famous for demonstrations of rocket powered cars with Opel. The Russian edition (1936) is also available in this collection.
Space Ships.
First published volume (out of 9) of Rynin’s encyclopedia of spaceflight.
L’ Exploration Par Fusées De La Très Haute Atmosphère.
Two exemplars, one signed on the cover and has a signed note from Esnault inside. The other exemplar is signed and has the original rules of the REP-Hirsch prize in astronautics among its pages.
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Robert Esnault-Pelterie
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Hans Hardt’s Mondfahrt.
Eight inserted plates with illustrations. Juvenile literature, rather realistic in its description of spaceflight. The Russian edition (1930, rebound) with a preface by Iakov Perelman is also available in this collection.
Mit Raketenkraft Ins Weltall.
Describes a rocket trip into outer space. Illustrated boards with tan cloth spine. First edition.
Early Pioneers (1929 – 1932)
Das Problem Der Befahrung Des Weltraums.
First comprehensive discussion of space stations. First printing with publication year (1929) on front page.
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Rocket Societies of the 1920s
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Die Rakete Für Fahrt Und Flug.
History of rocketry by one of Oberth’s assistants.
Space Rocket Trains.
First proposal of multi-stage rockets. Only 2,000 copies printed.
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Across Two Oceans
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Wege Zur Raumschiffahrt.
Retitled and expanded version of Oberth’s book from 1923.
Recherches Théoriques Sur Le Rendement Et Les Conditions De Réalisation Des Systèmes Motopropulseurs A Réaction.
Description of the state of the art in rocketry, prepared for the French Air Force.
L’Astronautique.
Two exemplars. The Russian edition (1950) is also available in this collection.
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Robert Esnault-Pelterie
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Weltraumschiffahrt?
Early history of physical and technical problems of space travel.
Gas Compressors.
Describes turbines for aviation.
Die Rakete Als Weltfriedenstaube.
Advances the idea that long range rockets would be a weapon to render wars impossible. Undated, but assumed 1931 based on currency and historical references in the text.
The Conquest of Space.
First book in English to explore space travel. The British edition (1932) is also available in this collection.
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Across Two Oceans
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By Rocket To The Moon.
U.S. edition. Juvenile literature, realistic in its description of a first flight into space.
Raketenflug.
Rudolf Nebel was a a member of the German Society for Space Travel (VfR) where Oberth and von Braun also experimented. This book would be translated by NASA in 1967.
Irons-Nous Dans La Lune?
Speculation about a trip to the Moon.
Das Weltraum-Recht.
First edition at author’s expense. The first book on the legal aspects of spaceflight to present space law as an independent area of law.
Interplanetary Travels.
The seventh edition of Perelman’s book (1915) discussing interplanetary travel; the tenth edition (1935) is also available in this collection. Perelman would annotate and preface a Russian edition of Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon (1934) also available in this collection.
Grundriß Einer Geschichte Der Rakete.
Physical principles and history of rockets. Very small (16 pp.).
Early Pioneers (1933 – 1935)
Adventure Above The Clouds.
Contains chapter with photographs of rocket experiments.
Männer Der Rakete.
Autobiographical essays by rocket pioneers, Esnault-Pelterie, Goddard, Oberth, Rynin, Tsiolkovsky.
The Future Of Reactive Engines.
This is the 1933 reprint of Mikoni’s book (1932).
Rocket To The Moon.
Juvenile literature.
Raketenflugtechnik.
Pioneering work on rocket motor design and high-speed atmospheric flight. Two different editions in Russian (1936 and 1947) also available in this collection.
Conquest Of The Air.
Rynin wrote this autobiographical article after rediscovering the pioneering rocket proposal of Nikolai Kibalchich (1918) also available in this collection. Pages 379-391 in Almanakh Vtoroi /God Pestnadnatsii / [Second Almanac/ Sixteenth Year]. Not illustrated.
To The Stars By Rocket.
The first edition is unknown according to Ciancone. The collection has two exemplars: one submitted to the editor in December 1933 and printed in February 1934; and another submitted to the editor in May 1934 and printed in July 1934.
From The Earth To The Moon.
Scientific edition, illustrated, with notes in the text, biographical sketch about Jules Verne, and afterword by Iakov Perelman describing how various writers imagine traveling to the moon, including Tsiolkovsky and Oberth.
Neuere Ergebnisse Der Raketenflugtechnik FLUG.
Special report on results of rocket flights. Published in a special issue of Flug magazine.
Rockets and Rocket Ships.
Popularizer and historian of aeronautics. One of the first propagandists of the ideas of Tsiolkovsky. This is the second edition.
L’Astronautique (Complément).
Signed. One diagram in the book. This is the offprint in orange softcover with additional material.
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Robert Esnault-Pelterie
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Jet Propulsion.
Collection of essays by Russian pioneers on the dynamics of rockets. Only 3,000 published copies.
How To Build Rocket Ships.
Brief account of rockets and rocket propulsion with futuristic tones and instructions to build small solid-propellant rockets to push scale cars, trains, and boats. Copyright is 1935, but exemplar may be a later printing (1940).
Interplanetary Travels.
A very popular science writer in the Soviet Union in the early twentieth century who wrote extensively on spaceflight and promoted the work of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.
Stratosphere And Rocket Flight (Astronautics).
The first British book on space travel by a science writer, and one of few books in English before WWII with Lasser (1931), Monk (1933), and Cleator (1936) all also available in this collection. The second edition (1935) is also available in this collection.
La Navigation Interplanétaire.
Reproduces two conferences given at the Astronautical Society of France by the founding member of multiple international space and astronautics associations.
Rocket Airmail Stamps A Specialized Catalogue.
Probably the first catalogue for rocket airmail stamps. Describes the first rocket mail experiments and lists all rocket stamps and covers up to 1935. Two exemplars, one includes the original mailing envelope from F. W. Kessler.
My Biography Is Only Beginning.
Pioneering aviator and the man who selected Yuri Gagarin to be the first in space. A 1970s signed postcard and his 1972 (Pilots and Cosmonauts) book are also in the collection.
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Across Two Oceans
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The Technology Of Rocket Flight.
Russian edition of Raketenflugtechnik (1933) which is also available in this collection. A later (1947) Russian edition by a different editor is also available in this collection.
Exploring The Stratosphere.
Focuses on the exploration of the stratosphere through the use of balloons. However, a chapter describes Goddard’s work with three plates of illustrations.
Early Pioneers (1936 – 1939)
Rockets Through Space.
Cleator was a founding member and first president of the British Interplanetary Society (BIS). First edition.
Liquid-Propellant Rocket Development.
Includes the first public mention of Goddard's historic 1926 liquid-fuel rocket launch. Illustrated with photographs. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Volume 95, No. 3. Smithsonian Publication #3381.
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Across Two Oceans
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Flight Into Universal Space.
The Russian edition of Valier’s Raketenfahrt (1928) which is also available in this collection. HC, no DJ as issued.
Zero To Eighty.
Describes the use of an electric rail gun to launch spaceships.
Tsiolkovsky Life And Technical Ideas.
Summary of Tsiolkovsky’s ideas on rocketry.
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Across Two Oceans
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Propulsione A Reazione.
Signed. Rocketry in Italy with focus on Giorgio Cicogna, who died while developing a rocket motor and invented the Hydrophone. Highly unusual.