First Photographs of the Far Side of the Moon, with original photograph attached

[ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE U.S.S.R.].

Russian Title (First Picture of the far side of the Moon).

Moscow: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R., 1959.

1st Edition. Hardcover. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. Near Fine. Item #002592

4to (261 x 205 mm). 33 [5] pp., 5 diagrams and 4 full-page photographic reproductions in text. Original blue cloth covers with the spacecraft and the moon stamped in blind and blue, lettering in blue and gilt (uneven fading to cover, extremities little rubbed). Provenance: From a private Danish collection. Loosely attached is an original glossy B&W photo (241 x 184 mm) of the press released photograph of the lunar far side ("Photo: 235-236. Moscow, Oct. 27. Fotokhronika TASS", with copyright stamp on verso "Nordisk Pressefoto A/S, Copenhagen, Denmark") accompanied by a second photo with explanational text. Fine copy.

FIRST EDITION, approved for publication on November 10, 1959. For centuries, one of mankind's greatest quests was to view the other side of the moon. Luna 3 was launched on October 4, 1959, and three days later it took a total of 29 photos over a 40 minute period, covering about 70% of the hitherto-unseen lunar surface on the other side. It then headed back toward home and managed to broadcast about seventeen of these images to earth by October 18; all contact with the probe was lost on October 22. This amazing scientific achievement far overshadowed the fact that the images were of poor quality; they were later computer-enhanced. This book was published just 23 days after the pictures were received. - Visit our website to see more images!

Price: 1,500 €  *  convert currency