I was born in late 1956, and if there was a cultural icon
for my youth, it was The Space Age.
The Space Age was a phenomenon that went far beyond the doings of NASA.
It touched almost every aspect of our culture. Kids a few years older played
with six-shooters and wore coonskin caps, but my playthings were plastic rockets
and metal robots with flashing lights. Cars started resembling aircraft before
I was born, and by 1960 were imitating spacecraft, with odd chrome rocket tubes
sticking out the back.
Many things had a space theme. Near my house was the Orbit Bar and the
Astronaut Laundromat. Sofas and household appliances sought to be sleek and
futuristic. One canister vacuum cleaner became a ball, and likened itself to a
satellite. The Space Age was best seen in advertising. If a product could be
shown in space, it was. Pens, televisions, blenders, all were launched into
orbit with Sputnik by Madison Avenue.
Another trait of the Space Age was optimism of a Better Tomorrow. Thirty
years later Donald Fagan wrote of this in his songs "What A Wonderful
World It will Be" and "New Frontier". Magazines revealed that in
The Future, that is, in the decade or so before the turn of the century, we
would be driving in flying cars, fixing our meals in robotic kitchens, relaxing
whilst our atomic powered homes were cleaned by robots. This was The Promise.
At least the promise made to a little boy who soaked in all in with wonderment.
One of the first books I remember reading was one of those cardboard covered
booklets for first graders titled "You Will Go To The
Moon", which described a passenger trip to the moon. I took the title
literally. I would go to the moon.
The Promise was never fulfilled, and from the looks of things, never will
be. This site is dedicated to , oh, what could have been!
The Space Age, according to popular myth, began in 1957 with the
launching by the Russians of Sputnik. But I see that the era actually began
much earlier.
The 1939 World's Fair was a showcase of The new Tomorrow. Television got
its general introduction to the public. A country weary of doing without looked
forward to that clean, glittering future. They would have to wait for awhile..
World War Two came along.
By 1946 the public was REALLY ready for this Better Tomorrow. We'd made
fantastic advances in science , accelerated by the fervor of war. We now had
jet airplanes, rockets, and computers. And the Atomic Bomb. This page is about:
Science Fiction, finned cars, kidney shaped coffee tables, Philco
Predicta televisons, Tom Swift, Tom Corbett-Space Cadet, Theremin music, Dave
Brubeck, Stan Kenton, Amana Radar Ranges, toy robots, toy spaceships, Space
Family Robinson, Lost In Space, Magnus Robot Fighter, Dell Four Color Comics,
The Ventures, Fireball XL-5, Supercar, Matt Mason, 2001:a space odyssey,
Dynasoar, Disney's Tomorrowland, The Mercury Astronauts, lava lamps, and more.
If you have anything, pictures, essays, articles, about the above, let me
know. If you don't know about all of the above, stay tuned...
LOST IN SPACE
Essays, Photos, & Links
ARTIFACTS OF THE
SPACE AGE new!
BRITISH SF
PUPPETS a nostalgic look at Gerry Anderson's various Science Fiction shows
SPACE AGE GALLERY
images of a future that never was
SPACE GALLERY
ANNEX space views of the '50s.
eBay
check out some of the cool stuff I have for sale.
LINKS
visitors since 24 APR 98
last updated:10 JUN 1999
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