A rare and visually compelling grouping comprising a mid-20th century French aerospace presentation model of a slender sounding rocket, accompanied by a period black-and-white photograph depicting the same model mounted on a launch platform mock-up before a technical architectural plan. The rocket, of elongated cylindrical form with sharply pointed conical nose, closely corresponds to early variants of the Véronique rocket developed during the formative years of France’s independent space efforts.
The photograph’s backdrop features a detailed engineering drawing bearing references to the Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES), the French Ministry of Public Works, and facilities at Brétigny-sur-Orge, identifying a laboratory structure with steel framework and roof plan. Founded in 1961, CNES spearheaded France’s early rocket and satellite programs, situating this model and image within the pivotal early 1960s period of national aerospace advancement.
Such models were typically produced for engineering visualization, testing concepts, or institutional presentation, and were seldom preserved outside their original context. The inclusion of the contemporaneous photograph—showing the model in situ within a technical setting—provides exceptional documentary value and strengthens the attribution to early CNES-associated development.
H: 20 3/16 x L: 5 1/2 x W: 4 1/8 in.,
Estimated Price: $1000 - $2000
Starting Price: $300
