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ROBERT HUTCHINGS GODDARD (1882-1945)
A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes [Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections vol. 71, no.2]. Washington, DC: The Lord Baltimore Press for The Smithsonian Institution, 1919. 8° (230 x 155mm). 5 leaves of half-tone illustrations, letterpress tables and diagrams in the text. Modern paper wrappers with title label on upper wrapper. Provenance: Guildhall Library, London (marginal inkstamps). FIRST EDITION. GODDARD'S FIRST BOOK ON ROCKETRY.
R.H. GODDARD. Liquid-Propellant Rocket Development. [Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, vol 95, no. 5]. Washington, DC: The Lord Baltimore Press for The Smithsonian Institute, 1936. 8° (240 x 106mm). 6 leaves of half-tone illustrations, diagram in the text. (Some leaves marked, creased along central fold.) Original printed wrappers (rubbed and marked), 20th-century cloth chemise and slipcase. Provenance: Albert W. Kisk (inscription on upper wrapper 'For Al with the compliments of the author') -- Robert B. Honeyman (his sale, Sotheby's London, pt IV, 5 November 1979, lot 1522). FIRST EDITION. PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED TO GODDARD'S BROTHER-IN-LAW AND MACHINIST. THE HONEYMAN COPY.
GODDARD'S TWO BOOKS ON ROCKETRY, ONE A HIGHLY-IMPORTANT ASSOCIATION COPY INSCRIBED TO ALBERT KISK, his machinist and brother-in law. Goddard was 'one of the three scientific pioneers of rocketry' (DSB V, p. 433, the other two being Oberth, cf. the following lot, and Tsiolkovsky, cf. lots 147-148). Goddard 'worked out the theory of rocket propulsion independently; and then almost alone he designed, built, tested, and flew the first liquid-fuel rocket on 16 March 1926 near Auburn, Massachusetts' (loc. cit.). A Method -- Goddard's first separate publication on rocketry -- was a fundamental text on the subject, which hinted at the idea of launching a rocket towards the moon. Although the New York Times criticised his ideas, saying that rockets could not work in space, the aviator Charles Lindberg took an interest and funded his work, as did the Carnegie and Smithsonian Institutes, and Goddard moved to New Mexico where he could develop and perfect his ideas. The second work, Liquid-Propellant Rocket Development, was Goddard's only other book on rocketry published in his lifetime and recorded the developments of the intervening years: by the 1930s his rockets were attaining speeds of 700mph and altitudes of more than 8,000 feet. This copy is inscribed to Kisk, who was not only Goddard's brother-in-law, but also his machinist and one of the handful of colleagues who worked with Goddard; Kisk can be seen in two of the photographs which illustrate the work (nos 2/1 and 8/2). RARE: this is the only inscribed copy of the work recorded by ABPC since 1975. (2)
A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes [Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections vol. 71, no.2]. Washington, DC: The Lord Baltimore Press for The Smithsonian Institution, 1919. 8° (230 x 155mm). 5 leaves of half-tone illustrations, letterpress tables and diagrams in the text. Modern paper wrappers with title label on upper wrapper. Provenance: Guildhall Library, London (marginal inkstamps). FIRST EDITION. GODDARD'S FIRST BOOK ON ROCKETRY.
R.H. GODDARD. Liquid-Propellant Rocket Development. [Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, vol 95, no. 5]. Washington, DC: The Lord Baltimore Press for The Smithsonian Institute, 1936. 8° (240 x 106mm). 6 leaves of half-tone illustrations, diagram in the text. (Some leaves marked, creased along central fold.) Original printed wrappers (rubbed and marked), 20th-century cloth chemise and slipcase. Provenance: Albert W. Kisk (inscription on upper wrapper 'For Al with the compliments of the author') -- Robert B. Honeyman (his sale, Sotheby's London, pt IV, 5 November 1979, lot 1522). FIRST EDITION. PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED TO GODDARD'S BROTHER-IN-LAW AND MACHINIST. THE HONEYMAN COPY.
GODDARD'S TWO BOOKS ON ROCKETRY, ONE A HIGHLY-IMPORTANT ASSOCIATION COPY INSCRIBED TO ALBERT KISK, his machinist and brother-in law. Goddard was 'one of the three scientific pioneers of rocketry' (DSB V, p. 433, the other two being Oberth, cf. the following lot, and Tsiolkovsky, cf. lots 147-148). Goddard 'worked out the theory of rocket propulsion independently; and then almost alone he designed, built, tested, and flew the first liquid-fuel rocket on 16 March 1926 near Auburn, Massachusetts' (loc. cit.). A Method -- Goddard's first separate publication on rocketry -- was a fundamental text on the subject, which hinted at the idea of launching a rocket towards the moon. Although the New York Times criticised his ideas, saying that rockets could not work in space, the aviator Charles Lindberg took an interest and funded his work, as did the Carnegie and Smithsonian Institutes, and Goddard moved to New Mexico where he could develop and perfect his ideas. The second work, Liquid-Propellant Rocket Development, was Goddard's only other book on rocketry published in his lifetime and recorded the developments of the intervening years: by the 1930s his rockets were attaining speeds of 700mph and altitudes of more than 8,000 feet. This copy is inscribed to Kisk, who was not only Goddard's brother-in-law, but also his machinist and one of the handful of colleagues who worked with Goddard; Kisk can be seen in two of the photographs which illustrate the work (nos 2/1 and 8/2). RARE: this is the only inscribed copy of the work recorded by ABPC since 1975. (2)
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