SPACE EXPLORATION

Today in the Bullis Room, we were thinking about forty-five years ago,  on July 21, 1969,  when Neil Armstrong became the first man to put his feet on the moon.

Nettie Bullis was 76 years old at the time.  For most of her lifetime,  "space exploration" referred to the land out west. Six states were explored and officially became part of the United States during Nettie's lifetime: Utah, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alabama, and Hawaii. The idea that the space to be explored was "out there in the heavens" was new to many of us who remember that time.

Whether the space is out west, around the world, or simply "out there," the Bullis collection has some interesting books about those places. In fact, there are LOTS of books on getting acquainted with this planet we live on. There is only one book that covers the  moon that Neil Armstrong walked on, and we think it's a very special book:

The Orbs Around Us: 

A Series of Familiar Essays on the Moon and Planets,

Meteors and Comets, the Sun and coloured pairs of suns.

By Richard A. Proctor, published by Green and Co. London, 1872

So again, we extend to you a special invitation to stop by the Bullis Room and let us show you (and show off!) these great classic books.

FLYING MACHINES

When did our fascination with flight begin? Perhaps back when our species first walked upright and envied the birds soaring across the skies above. There was certainly an interest in this subject a hundred years ago when William James Jackson authored FLYING MACHINES, which he subtitled construction and operation; a practical book which shows, in illustrations, working plans and text, how to build and navigate the modern airship, and the book lives up to this declaration.

This week our country celebrated the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin's walk on the surface of the moon. In between Jackson's 1910 flying machines and the astronaut's 1969 lunar module, many dedicated people gave their time and talents to getting our feet off the ground in a better way. This effort continues and leaves us to wonder what progress we will see in another 40 years.

In the meantime, Jackson's book is on the shelf here in the Bullis Room and you're invited to pore over its fascinating pages and take an imaginary trip in an early-twentieth century "modern" airship.