Early Planetary Artwork (from before the age of rocketry)

[autumnalequinox]

So I used to have alot of old books.  I collected stuff from my grandparent's house (they gave me tons of science books, many dating from 1920-1960).  In addition they had some cool old Silver Age comics (long since lost), but I digress.

There is one book I remember.  It was a guide to the Solar System written in the 1930s.  It was just so interesting and had very well done planetary artwork.  I remember Mercury being depicted as a blackened, volcanic hellscape with no atmosphere but copious lava flows and lava seas.  Venus was (rather ahead for it's time) depicted as a hot, dry, wind scorched desert planet with vast fields of yellow dust and wind carved rock formations.  Mars, of course, had a large section discussing seasonal blooms of greenery and the possibility of surface water.  Nothing, and I mean NOTHING was known about the outer planets.  I don't even remember if Jupiter was discussed as being a gas giant or not or simply a large, mysterious world with a thick atmosphere.

Oh and the moon was seen as being so EPIC with sweeping rock formations, mountains, and valleys.  More of a dead terrestrial world then the cratered Selena we know today.

Anyways I always thought these old, pre-space age views of the Solar System are simply fascinating.  I can't see to find any of this old artwork on the internet (if it's even here).  I know many of the planets in KSP are modeled on old, pre-space age views of the planets of our Solar System.  

I enjoy seeing how our views have changed as we discovered more and more and wonder how many of our current ones (even after space probes and exploration) are wrong.  It's like slowly peeling away a veil and replacing more and more speculation with hard evidence.  

If anyone has access to old (and I mean OLD) space art, let me know.  I want to see the volcanic plains of Mercury again and maybe take a dip in the carbonated seas of Venus?  Hehehhe

Edited June 2, 2016 by autumnalequinox
spelling

[Nikolai]

Do you have a title for this book?  I'd love to give it a look.

For impressions of what the Moon might be like just barely before we went there, check out Chesley Bonestell.  His jagged lunar peaks are iconic.

There's also a book titled (IIRC) Views of the Solar System that has a decent amount of artwork attempting to depict worlds we know very little about -- asteroid 624 Hektor, for example, or the view from the surface of a comet.

[Vanamonde]

Do yourself a favor and poke around the internet looking for Chesley Bonestell paintings. 

[benzman]

45 minutes ago, Vanamonde said:

Do yourself a favor and poke around the internet looking for Chesley Bonestell paintings. 

Absolutely!  I have Willy Ley's book 'the conquest of space' with illustrations by Chesley Bonestell.  It is one of my prized possessions.