Set of 6 rare plates featuring black-and-white illustrations - Lot 32

Set of 6 rare plates featuring black-and-white illustrations on the theme of “The Flying Man.” These earthenware plates date from 1961 and come from the French pottery “Gien” (founded in 1821 in the Loire Valley). All are the same size: 19x19cm. - 1st plate: features a drawing of an imaginary flying ship, titled “Blanchard’s Flying Ship—1783.” - Second plate: a drawing of a man flying in an imaginary spacecraft, titled “Ride to the Moon—1833.” - Third plate: “Rocket Man,” the self-propelled man. Harold Graham, 1961. - 4th plate: Drawing of Alan Shepard’s Mercury capsule; Shepard was the first American astronaut in space. 1961. - 5th plate: Drawing of John Glenn’s Mercury capsule; Glenn was the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth. 1962. - 6th plate: Illustration from Francis Godwin’s novel, with the caption: “The Man in the Moon—1666.” Francis Godwin was a prominent 17th-century English author. His novel was published in 1638. MERCURY MISSIONS—The first American manned space program: Six flights took place between May 5, 1961, and May 15, 1963: -Alan Shepard (first American in space): May 5, 1961 -Gus Grissom, Mercury Redstone-4 mission (July 21, 1961) -John Glenn, Mercury Atlas-6 mission (February 20, 1962) -Scott Carpenter, Mercury Atlas-7 mission (May 24, 1962) -Walter Schirra, Mercury Atlas-8 mission (October 3, 1962) -Gordon Cooper, Mercury Atlas-9 mission (May 15, 1963)