Space travel is possible: the theoretical proof - photo 1

Space travel is possible: the theoretical proof

Sold
£ 5 000
Auction dateClassic
16.07.2020 06:00UTC +01:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
United Kingdom, London
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 369995
Lot 6 | Space travel is possible: the theoretical proof
Robert Esnault-Pelterie (1881-1957)

Considérations sur les Résultats d’un Allègement indéfini des Moteurs. [Offprint from: Journal de Physique théorique et appliqué, Cinquième Série, Tome III]. Tours: Deslin Frères, 1913.

Octavo (240 x 165mm). Original printed wrappers (extremities a little frayed). Provenance: Esnault-Pelterie (presentation inscription on front wrapper: ‘En souvenir affectueux des premiers balbutiements … que dis-je ? des premiers tressaillements d’un art aviatique en gestation!’ (‘In affectionate memory of the first stutterings … what am I saying? The first thrummings of an aviation art in gestation!’).

First edition, presentation copy of the exceptionally rare separately-paginated offprint – the text that set out the demonstration that space travel is possible. This was the published version of the lecture delivered by Esnault-Pelterie in 1912 in St Petersburg and Paris, marking the beginning of theoretical astronautics. ‘The lecture contains all the theoretical bases of self-propulsion, destroying the myth that rockets need atmospheric support and giving the real equation of motion. Anticipated is the use of auxiliary propulsion for guidance and complete maneuverability of rockets. Also contained are calculations of the escape velocity, the phases of a round-trip voyage to the Moon, and the times, velocities, and durations, of trips to the Moon, Mars, and Venus, as well as thermal problems related notably to the surface facing the sun . . . This 1912 lecture is the first purely scientific study marking the birth of astronautics. While Tsiolkovsky had the prescience and talent to first suggest, in 1903, rocket propulsion to space, REP [as Esnault-Pelterie liked to be called] was the first to develop the equations of the problem and to establish the mathematical theory of interplanetary flight. REP is thus the founder of theoretical astronautics’ (Blosset, ‘Robert Esnault-Pelterie: Space pioneer’, in Durant & James, First Steps toward Space, 1974, p. 9).

Esnault-Pelterie’s lecture appeared in print in the Journal de Physique théorique et appliqué in abridged form, due to both space considerations and the trepidations of the journal’s editor, who was shocked by Esnault-Pelterie’s ideas on space travel – up to that point the exclusive realm of science fiction. Indeed Esnault-Pelterie’s paper was far ahead of its time, and failed to stir the public interest. His conclusions did, however, have a significant influence on other rocketry pioneers. This paper ‘was very likely the catalyst that spurred [Robert H. Goddard, America’s future rocket scientist] to present his work publicly as a patent, through lectures, and in published form. … For some Russians Esnault-Pelterie remained a focus of interest, the true pioneer. His rocket calculations set a standard. … It was the French, wrote N. Tolstoi, who were allowing humanity to ‘step over the boundaries’ between fantasy and reality with their project for a navigable ‘spacecraft’ … All that interplanetary travel needed was to apply the sciences of physics and orbital mechanics to the task, in the manner of Esnault-Pelterie' (Smith, Rockets and Revolution: A Cultural History of Early Spaceflight, 2014, pp. 82-83). OCLC lists a single copy of this offprint (Bibliothèque Nationale de France).
Category:Letter
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
24.06.2020 – 16.07.2020
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.