Merry Mouse and His Trip to the Moon (1953)

 

My next 4 posts are celebrating children's illustrated fiction about going to the Moon.

Even though I have been collecting these children's book for over 30 years it still is very exciting to find one that you never knew existed. Jack Coggins was an amazing space artist in the 1950s. His two early children's books that were especially memorable were Rockets, Jets, Guided Missiles, and Space Ships (1951) and By Spaceship to the Moon (1952). I have multiple copies of these in English, French and German.

So I was very excited to find a 1960 reprint of his 1953 book Merry Mouse and His Trip to the Moon. It was written by his wife Alma Coggins. This is a fictional book with many of the same styles of space painting about a mouse who goes to the Moon to find green cheese. I have chosen to reproduce almost the whole book since your chance of finding a copy are pretty small. I hope you enjoy this lost space art treasure.

Coggins, Alma. Illustrated by Coggins, Jack. Merry Mouse and His Trip to the Moon. (2nd edition) (Jolly Books.) London: L. Miller & Co. (20 p.) 1960. 

(reprint of 1953 1st edition). 

Above is the cover and below an illustration from Rockets,Jets...1951

Here is the cover to By Space Ship to the Moon 1952

Rockets, Satellites and Space Travel (1958)

I spend a lot of time being excited to show people books that I have never seen before, but that leaves out those of you who aren't familiar with the best of the space books. So here is definitely a greatest hit!

Coggins, Jack, Pratt, Fletcher, and Ley, Willy. Illustrated by Coggins, Jack. Rockets, Satellites, and Space Travel. New York: Random House. (64 p.) 29 cm. Illustrated Boards. 1958

An updating of Coggins and Pratt. "Rockets, Jets, Guided Missiles, and Space Ships” (1951). Much of the text is the same tracing the history of rockets and planning for an expedition to the Moon. The updating includes discussions of artificial satellites research and the US and Russian launches of satellites. It also updates discussion of the Moon trip and atomic powered rockets. There are several added painting of Moon landers, a round space station and satellites. See 1951 1st edition here:

http://dreamsofspace.blogspot.com/2009/03/rockets-jets-guided-missiles-and-space.html

 This chart (and the book itself) lays out an ambitious plan for future exploration. It is amazing how much had changed in the 7 years since the 1991 first edition.

 Jack Coggins was a renowned artist, especially of hardware so his paintings are very unique.

 I like the 1950s hi-fi gear and basic electronics against the background of orbiting the earth.

 A "tricked-out" space station with all the extras (solar, television, work space, man-cave etc.)

 A re-used painting from the 1951 edition, almost like an airliner in space, to circle the Moon

 A much revised moonlander.

 This painting of explorers on (Titan?) is a great combination of Bonestell and Coggins' own imagination

 A superior Mars-buggy for the modern explorer

Space Satellite: The Story of the Man Made Moon (1957)

Another classic book that I found that I have never done a proper post on. It was illustrated by Jack Coggins 

Beeland, Lee and Robert Wells. Illustrated by Coggins, Jack. Space Satellite: The Story of the Man-made Moon. New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc. (79 p.) 25 cm. Cloth, DJ. 1957

Jack Coggins illustrated a couple of children's space books, most notably Rockets, Jets, Guided Missiles and Space Ships (1951)  and By Spaceship to the Moon (1952).

A pre-Sputnik book about the Vanguard  program and the I.G.Y.  Describes satellite and rocket theory as well as how the equipment involved will work. It also discuses the uses of satellites and the I.G.Y. 

What makes this book stand out are the wonderful color paintings of a rocket launch, a satellite in orbit, and a satellite burning up from re-entry. It also has nice paintings of a manned craft flying low over the Moon's surface and a rocket to Mars. Also 1958, 1960 editions.

 Truly beautiful "industrial-style" illustrations. The artist depicts the work of going to space.