By Space Ship To The Moon
It's a busy car boot.
I'm trying to avoid standing on a small dog whose owner is preoccupied with an electric kettle.
Glancing down, I notice an old suitcase littered with yesterdays annuals.
Most have broken spines and missing pages.
''By Space Ship To The Moon'' is amongst the 20p derelicts which catch my eye.
It's in a sorry state, but then it's been around since the early 1950s.
I'm drawn to the illustrations. I like them in an odd way.
They're looking forward at a time when manned moon missions are still in the future.
The illustrations of space exploration are curious.
They've a dystopian sub-text of sorts; at least that's what I see.
They're at odds with the colourful and optimistic Space Race pics I remember from my 1960s-70s childhood
These 1950s illustrations have a nuts-and-bolts industrialised bleakness about them.
There's a foreboding greyness to the depictions of space rockets and the space station.
They're Spartan, devoid of interior cabin lights, porthole illuminations and bright neon signal beacons.
There are no familiar symbols, insignia or international flags.
Strange looking back now, when we think that insignia and flag-planting would play a big part in the real Space Race, some years ahead of the book.
There's mention of human conflict, even in space.
Fletcher Pratt writes,''Therefore we only really want a station in space as a station, while we are getting ready to set up base on the moon. That is what we really need for defence purposes. The station on the moon would be pretty safe from any kind of attack from earth'.
Jack Coggins' striking illustrations consolidate the narrative, painting a menacing and somewhat militarised moon mission.
The black lunar lander has a dark presence and the ominous look of a gigantic robotic spider.
It's appearance is unfamiliar, unfriendly, alien even!
Inside, the control room a grim astronaut prepares to suit-up.
He's surrounded by pressure gauges, a valve radio and a periscope...
the classic retro technology of a 1940s submarine... and B-movie spaceship.
In this future vision, astronauts wear oppressive metallic grey spacesuits.
The suits function to visually dehumanise and transform astronauts into robots.
Raised helmet-visors are the only indication that humans exist inside.
The front cover illustration shows an astronaut with a large knife incorporated into the design of his suit.
Maybe they haven't come in peace?
The book was published in the aftermath of a world war and the beginning of a cold war.
A time when fear of the atom bomb and invasion were hot topics.
Whatever we love or hate about the book, it's narrative and illustrations reflect the uncertain era it came from.
For me, this 20p car boot find is a disquieting piece of space nostalgia, with a darker message.
Tony K
Very insightful analysis Tony. I fancy the idea that the message about space being basically a very foreboding place is in a way inscribed into the illustrations. Somehow brings to mind the Soviet nuts-and-bolts approach of the same era. A Western counterpart?
ReplyDeleteHi Arto and thank you for your comment. You've raised a very good point that the illustrations convey the message that space is a forboding environment. It's so nice that we can read so many different messages from the same pics. I really like your observation about the Soviet nut-and nolts approach :)
DeleteA great find Tony. Im preparing a look at some vintage space books for next week, including a very similar Jack Coggins book. Oddly enough, one of the things that really irks me is the total lack of space books at car boots or second hand stalls. Where have they all gone?
ReplyDeleteHiya Bill, Thank you, it was a lucky find. Yep, where are the vintage space books at carboots? They're few and far between, apart from Brooke Bond, Race Into Space. A lovely album which seems to stalk me from carboot-to-carboot :)
DeleteI'm looking forward to reading your piece on vintage space books, especially Jack Coggins.
Its a beautiful book Tone. A by gone age of light and space fuelled by adventure.
ReplyDeleteThanks Woodsy. It does give a compelling insight into how space travel was perceived at that point in time :)
DeleteAmazing collection of classic illustrations!
ReplyDeleteHello ZigguratSF2000, I agree, there is something quite classical about them.
DeleteThank you for your comment and thoughts. It's always interesting to know what people think :)