THE CONQUEST OF SPACE .. by Lasser, David - 1931

New York: Penguin Press, 1931. Octavo, pp. [1-6] 1-271 [272-274: blank] [note: last leaf is a blank], four inserted plates, other illustrations in text, original black cloth, front and spine panels stamped in gold. First edition. The first English-language book devoted to rocketry and space travel, written by a rocket pioneer and first president of the American Interplanetary Society, provides a summary of past and current rocket research and speculation on the future of rocket flights in the earth's atmosphere and in interplanetary space. The work consists of three parts: "The Rocket" (a history of rocketry), "The Flight Into Space" (a fictional account of a space voyage), and "New Worlds" (addressing challenges and rewards of space flight). Ciancone 123. Ley, Rockets, Missiles, and Space Travel, revised edition, 1957, p. 492. Bookplate of early aeronautics collector Merritt Edward Peck affixed to the front paste-down. Inner front hinge repaired, a bright, nearly fine copy in good worn and taped pictorial dust jacket. The jacket is rarely found in any condition. (#160274)