A Selection from Stock on Early Heavier-than-Air Aviation, 1866-1913
Aeronautics, Flight--Book Reviews in Nature Magazine; London: Nature Magazine, 1896. 1st edition. Nature, 14 May 1896 Pp 25-48 8vo. Printed wrappers. Very good condition. Reviews of "The Aeronautical Journal", and Ahlborn's "Zur MEchanik des Vogelfuges". These are reviews in the old sense of book reviews, and account for much more than is printed in the books being reviewed. For example, the review opens with "Till quite recently, artificial flight was regarded in much the same light as the philosopher's stone, perpetual motion..." etc. Quite interesting. Also includes two other articles on Roentgen rays $125
Aeronautical Society of Great Britain; London: Aeronautical Society, 1866. 1 Small 8vo. Very good condition. This is a small, broadside-like publication announcing the FORMATION OF THE AERONAUTICAL SOCIETY of Great Britain. Scarce. $175
Airplane, "The Airplane as Weapon: Politicians and the Science of Flight"; London: Illustrated London News, 1911. 1st edition. The issue Folio. Printed wrappers. Very good condition. Very good, removed from a larger bound volume. Display 1--a full page multi-photo treatment--features leading British politicians in/at/around airplanes, including Winston Church, Balfour, McKenna, Haldane, and others. The second article deals with aerial bombinmg in a full-page spread. Both greatly interesting. $225
Aviation, "Making Military Drawings While Flying on an Aeroplane: how the sketches were made in mid-air"; London: Illustrated London News, 1911. 1st edition. Folio. Original printed wrappers. Very good condition. Very nice copy removed fromlarger bound volume. This spectacular drawing is made from the viewpoint of the artist sitting directly behind the pilot of a Wright-style aeroplane. In the foreground we see the lap of the artist and his drawing pad as he sketches the terrain; the pilot's head takes up much of the center of the drawing, and in the background we see the distant horizon. Simply wonderful. $300
Aviation, : Print: "Man above the Mountain Tops--Record High Flights"; London: Illustrated London News, 1913. 1st edition. 1 Folio. Fine This great print shows the history of aeroplane record altitudes achieved for the period 1908 (80 feet) through 1913 (18,200 feet), comparing those achievements to the heights of buildings and mountains. $200
Bothezat, Georges de: Théorie Génénerale des Régimes de l'Aéroplane; Paris: H. Dunod, 1913. 4to. Wrappers. A good copy, with a little chipping. Signed presentation copy. $300
Bothezat, George de: The Meaning for Humanity of the Aerial Crossing of the Ocean; : Scientific Monthly, 1919. Offprint: The Scientific Monthly Wrappers. Very good condition. Signed presentation copy. $300
Buckingham, Edgar: Jet Propulsion for Airplanes; Washington: USGPO, 1923. National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics No. 159 4to. Wrappers. Good copy. $400
Dirigible. Print: "One ''Dreadnought'' Buys 52 Dirigibles and 235 aeroplanes"; London: Illustrated London News, 1913. 1st edition. Folio. Fine "A 2,000,000-(British) pound battle-ship and its equivalent in air-craft". This terrific print (a full page illustration from the June 3, 1911 issue) graphically displays the aerial equivalent of spending 2,000,000 pounds on aircraft. Very striking. $200
Dirigible, Print: "Will it ever be so in the Eastern Sky over England? The Coming of Battle Dirigibles and War"; London: Illustrated London News, 1913. 1st edition. 2 Folio. Fine condition. Fine copy of this gorgeous print. A marvelous glimpse into the future, "as invasion by air would seem: an advancing army of flying craft capable of clearing the way for a water-borne fleet", after the painting by Norman Wilkinson. $225
Dirigible, "Why Laws are Made to Prevent Unauthorized Flying of Air-ships over Foreign Territory"; London: Illustrated London News, 1913. 1st edition. Folio. Printed wrappers. Very good condition. Very good; removed from larger bound volume Terrific double-page illustration displaying over 50 dirigible from different countries. Offered here in the issue for Februiary 22, 1913. $150
Dirigible, "Fishing for the Enemy: Hooked Bombs for Catching Dirigibles..."; London: Illustrated London News, 1913. The issue Printed wrappers. Very good condition. Aviation, dirigible, flight Great double-page photo-illustrated spread on dirigibles.
Drzewiecki, S.: Des Helices Aeriennes, theorie generale des Propulsurs heliocoidaux et metrhode de calcul des propulseurs pour l'air; Paris: Librairie des Sciences Aeronautiques, 1909. Wrappers. Very good condition. Ex-library. Library at Aachen. $300
Durand, W.F.: Researches on the Performance of the Screw Propeller; Washington: Carnegie Institution, 1907. Offprint from Carnegie of Washington 4to. Wrappers. Very good condition. $125
Farman, "The Fight of NAtions to COnquer the Air"; London: Illustrated London News, 1908. 1st edition. Illustrated London News Nov 14, 1908, p 672 Pp 657-696 Thin folio. Printed wrappers. Very good condition. Entire weekly issue; removed from larger bound volume. Images include "Italy's first military dirigible over Rome", "Mr. Farman wining a prize for the highest flight in an aeroplane", and the map of Farman's flight from Chalons to Reims. $150
[Goddard] The Papers of Robert H. Goddard, including Reports to the Smithsonian Institution and the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Foundation. Edited by Esther C. Goddard and G, Edward Pendray.
McGraw-Hill, New York: 3 volumes (each ca. 500pp). Cloth bound, in the original cloth box, and each with the original (fragile) glassine dustwrapper. VERY FINE copies. $450
Great Balloon Voyage from St. Louis to New Y ork; New York: Harper's Weekly, 1859. June 18, 1859 Folio. Wrappers. This article occupies two full pages of th eweekly issue of Harper's for June 18, 1859 and features four woodcuts of the balloons (includign the "Atlantic" and the "noneteenth Century", as well as a portrait of the great early aeronaut, Prof Wise. Removed from larger bound volume of the newspaper. $225
Robinson, W. Heath: Hunlikely!; London: Duckworth & Co., 1916. 1st edition. 53pp Royal 8vo. Cloth and boards. Very good condition. This is a fabulously illustrated effort by W. Heath Robinson on the aeronautical escapades of Germany during WWI. The illustrations are partially in silhouette (my favorites) vignettes and full page drawings and largely depict fantastical and improbable inventions and technological superoddities relating to flight.
Royal Flying Corps, Making Militant Airmen: at the British Central Flying School...; London: Illustrared London News, 1913. April 19, 1913 40pp Folio. Wrappers. Very nice condition, crisp; removed from bound volume This is a fine two-page spread (illustrated by S. Begg) showing the condition of the first British flying school for military men in the first year of operation. Upavon on the Salisbury Plain was the location for the school for both military and naval fl $150
Tyler, Parker R.: From Seattle to Ie Shima with the 413th Fighter Group, a Narrative; : Self-published, 19445. 30PP 8vo. Good or better condition. Personal recollection of Capt Parker Tyler jr, mimeographed, typewritten, and gathered by staples. Constituted as 413th Fighter Group on 5 Oct 1944 and activated on 15 Oct. Trained for very-long-range operations with P-47'sMoved to the Asiatic- Pacific Theater, Apr-Jun 1945. Assigned to Twentieth AF; reassigned to the Eighth early in Aug 1945. Flew a few strafing missions from Saipan to the Truk Islands in May before beginning operations from Le Shima in Jun. Engaged in dive-bombing and strafing attacks on factories, radar stations, airfields, small ships, and other targets in Japan. Made several attacks on shipping and airfields in China during Jul. Flew its only escort mission on 8 Aug 1945 when it covered B29's during a raid against Yawata, Japan. Served as a part of the air defense and occupation force for the Ryukyu Islands after the war. Inactivated on Okinawa on 15 Oct 1946. Principal aircraft was the P-47. $250
Santos-Dumont, Mans Flies at Last: M. Santos Dumont's Triumphant Flight of 235 Yards in his Aeroplane; London: Illustrated London News, 1906, 1906. 1st edition. Folio. Printed wrappers. Very good condition. Slightly ex-library. London:. Issue for Nov 6, 1906 50pp Folio. Wrappers. Very good condition. Very crisp copy, , removed from half-yearly bound volume. Double-page photo of Santos Dumont in flight 15 feet off the ground in the (ultra) famous 14-bis, the somewhat ungraceful dihedrally-angled cellular box-kited winged 24hp powered aeroplane which provided the first successful powered flight in Europe. This photograph is an image of Santos-Dumont on November 12, when he set the European record of 700+ feet and staying aloft 21 seconds. It was the premier achievement of European aviation to that time. IT is also interesting to note that M. Santos-Dumont pretty much owned the year 1906, as his were really the only achievements of note anywhere in the world (the Wrights did not fly in 1906). Price: US $300
Wireless telegraphy, Check to the Submarine: air-scouting with wireless.; Illustrated London News: , 1913. 1st edition. Illustrated London News The weekly issue 4to. Wrappers. Very good condition. Very finely illustrated reports on wireless telegraphy. Includes three 1-page reports overall, with nearly the entire page being comprised of illsutration. the otehr two articles deal with receiving broadcasts of GMT--one showing a London family gathere $150
Wright, Wilbur: die neusten fortschritte in der pratischen fliegkunst; full page article on the Wright Bros soaring flight experiments in Dayton; Leipzig und Berlin: Illustrirte Zeitung, 1903. 1st edition. From: Illustrirte Zeitung, 5 March 1903, #3114 Pp 333-360 Folio. Printed paper wrappers, removed. Very good condition, with a rubber stamp of a NYC public library on the front cover. This is a very attractive full-page article (illustrated with 5 photographs!) of the Wrights' experiments in soaring flight in Dayton in 1903. Nice graphical design. Scarce. $350
Wright, WIlbur: "The Bird Man: Mr. WIlbur Wright Posing for his PHotograph"; London: Illustrated London News, 1908. 1st edition. Illustrated London News, September 5, 1908 Pp 321-355 Folio. Printed wrappers. Very good condition. Slightly ex-library. The entire issue for the week of 5 September; removed from larger bound volume THis short appreciation appears in GK Chesterton's column "Or Note Book" and features a photo of W Wright having his photograph made. Issue also contains a marvelous 4-page illustrated spread on Victorian "curiosities of the patent office". $125
Wright, Wilbur: Annual reports of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, 1901.; Washington DC: Government Printing OFfice, 1902. 1st edition. 8vo. Very good condition. Ex-library from the U.S. Senate Library Annual reports of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, 1901. $300 8vo, 756pp, many illustrations, some folding plates and diagrams. Bound in full sheep, ex-library ("U.S. Senate Library"). Front joint is cracked, spine somewhat rubbed and chipped. A Good+ copy of a difficult book. Including: --Lord Rayleigh on Flight Pp 195-196 --the Langley Aerodrome, pp 197-216, with 6 plates (including three plates of photographs by Alexander Graham Bell of the airship, one of which features the Aerodrome #5 in flight May 6, 1896). --Curtis, Thomas The Zeppelin Airship, pp 217-222, 5 plates. And Rotch, A.L. Use of Kites to Obtain Meteorological Observations, pp 223-231, with 3 plates (one of which is a photo of one of the kites which bears a remarkable resemblence to the Langley Aerodrome…) Also included are many other articles of interest to issues outside aviation (including a wonderful article by the bad boy of science himself, Charles Sanders Pierce…) Notes on Langley: Professor Samuel Pierpont Langley (1834—1906), third Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, was one of the first major aeronautical figures in the United States. He started serious investigations in flight in 1887 with rubber band-powered models; however, their short and erratic performances led him to seek other types of propulsion. Unsuccessful experiments were conducted with engines powered by gunpowder, hot water (fireless boiler), compressed air, electricity, and carbon dioxide. In 1892 Langley began experimenting with large tandem-winged models powered by steam engines, and on May 6, 1896, his Aerodrome No. 5 made the first successful flight of any engine driven heavier-than-air craft. It was launched from a spring-actuated catapult mounted on top of a houseboat on the Potomac River near Quantico, Virginia. Two flights were made during the afternoon, one of 3,300 feet and one of 2,300 feet. On both occasions the Aerodrome landed in the water, as planned, because, in order to save weight, it was not equipped with landing gear. A distinguished observer, Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, wrote about these flights in Nature on May 28, 1896: On the occasion referred to, the Aerodrome at a given signal, started from a platform about 20 feet above the water and rose at first directly in the face of the wind, moving at all times with remarkable steadiness, and subsequently swinging around in large curves of, perhaps, a hundred yards in diameter and continually ascending until its steam was exhausted, when at a lapse of about a minute and a half, and at a height which I judge to be between 80 and 100 feet in the air, the wheels ceased turning, and the machine, deprived of the aid of its propellers, to my surprise did not fall but settled down so softly and gently that it touched the water without the least shock, and was in fact immediately ready for another trial. In the second trial, which followed directly, it repeated in nearly every respect the actions of the first except that the direction of its course was different. It ascended again in the face of the wind afterwards moving steadily and continually in large curves accompanied with a rising motion and a lateral advance. Its motion was, in fact, so steady that I think a glass of water on its surface would have remained unspilled. When the steam gave out again, it repeated for a second time the experience of the first trial when the steam had ceased, and settled gently and easily down. What height it reached at this trial I cannot say, as I was not so favourably placed as in the first, but I had occasion to notice that this time its course took it over a wooded promontory, and I was relieved of some apprehension in seeing that it was already so high as to pass the tree tops by twenty or thirty feet. It reached the water one minute and thirty-one seconds from the time it started, at a measured distance of over 900 feet from the point at which it rose.
Wright, Wilbur: "The catapault that launches WIlbur Wright's Flying Machine"; London: Illustrated London News, 1908. 1st edition. Illustrated London News, 22 August, 1908 Pp 254-288 Folio. Paper wrappers. Very good condition. Slightly ex-library. Nice issue for the week of 22 August, 1908, removed from a larger bound volume. Interesting short article on the Wright catapault; also in this issue, a full-page illustration showing Arab scientists demonstrating "flight during the 12th Century", depciting a wood-and-paper flying machine $125
Wright, Wilbur: "The King Sees Mr. Wright Sail on an 'Attenuated Sea' "; London: Illustrated London News, 1909. 1st edition. Illustrated London Pp 443-468 Folio. Printed wrappers. Very good condition. Slightly ex-library. Very nice issue of the weekly for 27 MArch 1909, removed from a larger, bound volume. Wonderful full-page, two-photo story of Wright flying before the King; one photo picturing Mr and Miss Wright at the controls. $125
Wright, Orville: "The Machine that Caused the Greatest Aeroplane Disaster, Mr. Orville Wrighrt Making his Record Flight..."; London: Illustrated London News, 1908. 1st edition. Illustrated London News, 26 September, 1908 Pp 423-456 Folio. Printed wrappers. Very good condition. Slightly ex-library. Very nice copy of the weekly issue for 26 September, removed from a larger bound volume. Fine full-page story on Orville's flight just after his crash. The one-paragraph description of the history of the Wright Brothers and the operating of their aeroplane is quite remarkable for its insight. On the opposite page is a half-page photo "The Air Age: Typewriting by Wireless Telegraphy and the Wright Aeroplane". $200
Wright, Wilbur: "The First Woman to Fly in a Wright Aeroplane..."; London: Illustrated London News, 1908. 1st edition. iLLUSTRATED lONDON nEWS 24 oCTOBER, 1908 Pp 555-588 Folio. Printed wrappers. Very good condition. Slightly ex-library. Very nice copy of the wweekly issue for 24 October 1908, removed from a larger bound volume. A bold, full page article with 6 photo illustrations celebrating the first Wright flight of a woman by Mrs. Frank Hedges Butler. Also taking flights were C.S. Rolls, MRs. Hart O. Berg, Baden-Powell, and others. $250
Wright, Wilbur: Some Aeronautical Experiments; New York: Scientific Experiments, 1902. Scientific American, February 22, 1902 Pp 119-132 Folio. Wrappers. Very nice copy, small circular library rubberstamp on front cover. Full page article including the five famous photographs of the Wright glider. An extremely early report on the Wright Brother's gliding experiments. Scarce. $950
Wright, Wilbur: "The King ALfonso with Mr. Wright"; London: Illustrated London News, 1909. 1st edition. Illustrated London News, 27 February 1909 Pp Folio. Printed wrappers. Very good condition. Slightly ex-library. The entire issue for the week of 27 February is offered, removed from a larger bound volume. THis issue contains three short observations on W. Wright and the Wright flyer, but the one we like the most is this short notice with a photograph of Wilbur and King Alfonso of Spain, taken head-on from the from of the plane. IT is noted that the King did not actually fly in the plane on the request of the Queen. $150
Wright, Orville: "The Fatal Four-Minutes Flight: the Disaster to ORville Wright"; London: Illustrated London News, 1908. 1st edition. Illustrated London News, October 3, 1908 Pp Folio. Printed wrappers. Very good condition. Slightly ex-library. The entire issue for the week of 3 October removed from larger bound volume. This full-page story covers (with 4 photos) the crash of the Orville Wright flyer at Fort Meyer (Virginia) which took the life of Wright's passenger, Lieutenant Selfridge. Selfridge was the first military pilot and was also the first airplane fatality. $200
Wright, Orville: "The Second of the Flying Brothers..."; London: Illustrated London NEws, 1908. 1st edition. Illustrated London News, September 19, 1908 Pp Folio. Printed wrappers. Occasional small rubberstamped owner's This is a short appreciation of Orville by G.K. Chesterton in his "Our Notebook" column, featuring a photo portrait of OW declaring him to have "flown at a speed of thirty-eight miles an hour on his aoerplane with a passenger..." Also in this issue: full-page illustration of "A Balloon towed by a German torpedo boat" and much else of interest $150
Wright, Wilbur: Obituary Notice for Wilbur Wright; London: Illustrated London News, 1912. Issue Folio. Printed wrappers. Very good condition. Very good copy, removed from a larger bound volume This is the entire weekly issue of June 8, 1912, featuring Wilbur Wright in the central location for the highly decorative page of "Portraits and Personal Notes" announcing his death. $150
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