Back to space books and here are some of my oldest and certainly smallest. The two Orbit books by Collins are mid-sixties and some of the first space books I got as a child. How they survived all the intervening years, I don't know - but I found two almost new copies complete with mini dustjackets.
Each book is about 3" square, with a thick card cover and very few pages. What they lack in volume, they make up for in quality, with gorgeous painted illustrations of developments in space rockets up to Apollo. Being a British product, they include British inventions such as the Vulcan launched 'Blue Steel' missile and 'Black Knight' satellite.
Its also interesting to note the 'Nova' launch vehicle makes an appearance, which was proposed as an alternative to the Apollo Moon Landing vehicle, but never made it beyond the drawing board.
Next up, a much later purchase, bought while on holiday in Devon from a shop in Paignton as I recall, for the princely sum of 25p, probably in 1970. Again a small book, 3 # long and chock full of black and white photos of military and civil rockets.
Published by Hippo, it includes great coverage of Soviet ICBMs and launch vehicles, as well as other really obscure missiles from other countries, such as the Australian Ikara and ungainly looking Seaslug.
The book i s written by John W.R Taylor, an authority on rocketry and an author who I have several similar books by in my collection.
Britain did not adopt decimal currency until 1971, so if Rockets and Missiles was bought in 1970 it would have been priced in shillings and pennies; if it was 25p it must have been bought in 1971 or later. Really nice books.
ReplyDeleteQuite right Paul, I stand corrected. Neither maths or geography were my strong points!
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