May 2019 Auction Ends Thursday, May 30th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/30/2019
Robert H. Goddard typed letter signed, with content on the burgeoning field of rocketry, Goddard's passion for which he was largely ridiculed during his lifetime. Now considered the father of space flight, Goddard here responds on 17 April 1937 to an inquiry from a gentleman associated with Tufts College. Just a few weeks earlier on 26 March 1937, Goddard not only established a new world record for highest altitude achieved by a rocket, but his own personal best with the launch of his L-B rocket, which soared 8,000-9,000 feet into the sky.
Composed on stationery for ''Mescalero Ranch'', his home in Roswell, New Mexico, letter reads in part, ''The subject of rocket power, from an engineering standpoint, is so new that there are, so far as I know, no books which treat of the fundamentals of the subject in a thorough and serious way.
My own work on the subject is not yet completed, but you may be interested in reading my two papers in the Smithsonian Institution Miscellaneous Collections...Thanking you for your interest, I am / Very truly yours, [signed] R.H. Goddard''.
Single page letter measures 8.5'' x 11''. Three hole punched to side, folds and light toning. Overall very good to near fine condition. With JSA COA.
Scarce 1937 Letter Signed by Robert H. Goddard, the Father of Space Flight -- ''The subject of rocket power, from an engineering standpoint, is so new...'' -- With JSA COA
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