FIRST TEXTBOOK ON ROCKETRY - PRESENTATION-COPY

ESNAULT-PELTERIE, ROBERT.

L'astronautique + L'exploration par fusées de la très haute atmosphère et la possibilité des voyages interplanétaires. Conférence faite à l'Assemblée générale de la Société Astronomique de France le 8 Juin 1927.

Paris, 1930 + 1928.

Two 8vo-volumes. In a nice custommade leather-backed cloth-box with gilt lettering to front: "Space Travel/ Robert Esnault-Pelterie".

L'astronautique: Uncut and unopened in original red printed wrappers (mounted with thick paper on inside of wrappers), spine restored, no loss of lettering. (4), 248, (2) pp. (in between pages 4 and 8, which are both numbered are actually 2 leaves, i.e. 4 pp. that are unnumbered;one is only printed on recto and one only on verso (errata) + 9 large folded plated.

L'exploration de la très haute atmosphère et la possibilité des voyages interplanétaires: Uncut and unopened in the original printed wrappers (L'Astronomie, Revue mensuelle d'astronomie...). A few closed tears to spine and restoration to lower margin of front wrapper, far from affecting text. A fine copy. VII, (1), 96 pp.

First edition, presentation-copy, of the first text-book on rocketry and space-craft, together with the first edition of the important text of Esnault-Pelterie's 1927-symposium on the possibility of interplanetary travel.

L'Astronautique with signed presentation-inscription to page 9: "With compliments / Esnault / Oct 1932". "

Robert Albert Charles Esnault-Pelterie (1881 - 1957) was a pioneering French spaceflight theorist and aircraft designer. He combined a mixture of theoretical and practical work and is well known for being the inventor of the control stick of the aeroplane. He was furthermore the fourth man in France to obtain the pilot's license.

"L'Astronautique outlined the key steps involved in the launching of an Earth satellite, interplanetary travel and rockettrajectories. Esnault-Pelterie began building his own rocket engine early the following year [1931]. In 1932 a rocket engine experiment went horribly wrong when the tetranitromethane fuel with which he was working exploded and he lost four fingers." (Harvey, Brian. Europe's Space Programme: To Ariane and Beyond, Springer, 2003, 3 pp.)

Besides being remembered as a spaceflight-pioneer, Esnault-Pelteries has given name to the Esnault-Pelterie-crater on the Moon.

"In the 1937 universal exhibition he stages an 'Astronautics Hall' and his moon rocket became the basis of Tin Tin's cartoon moon rocket." (Ibid., 4 pp.)

L'Astronautique: Norman 715 ("Esnault-Pelterie's most important contribution to rocketry")

"L'exploration par fusées de la très haute atmosphère et la possibilité des voyages interplanétaires" is based on a symposium given by Esnault-Pelterie to the french Astronautics Society on June 8, 1927. - issued as the "Supplément au Bulletin de Mars 1928" of "L'Astronomie. Revue mensuelle d'astronomie de Météorologie et de Physique du Globe et Bulletin de la Société Astronomique de France.

Richard Green 105.

Order-nr.: 41456