Sunday, May 10, 2009

The complete book of space travel



Check out these fine illustrations by Virgil Finlay (1914-1971) in The Complete Book of Space Travel by Albro Gaul, published in 1956. I can't help myself marveling at the part-retro, part-naïve art depictions of how the author thought space travel in the future would look like.

The first space pilot has already been born. He is probably between ten and sixteen years of age at this moment. Without doubt both he and his parents listen to radio and television programs dealing with much space adventure but with few accurate facts. This book is designed to outline the facts of space travel, and the conditions we expect to find in space and among the planets and stars. These facts alone are sufficiently exciting, since they are factors in man's greatest single adventure - the exploration of the universe.


Golden Age Comic Book Stories: Virgil Finlay 1914 ~ 1971