A Collection of Aircraft Fabric and Photographs by VARIOUS MANUFACTURERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS

1932. 1934.1942. (1) in plain red boards. Illustrated with a small gravure of the author. 24mo. (2) in pictorial printed red boards. Faint RAC shield embossing to front cover. Various official stamps to internals. Handwritten bibliography in rear pocket. 12mo. (3) in titled blue cloth. Ruled pages as per contemporary log type. 8vo. Privileged and refined from the Oxbridge mill house, Sgt. G.S. Standring was typical of many pilots who fought the Battle of Britain. The three items herein presented composite to a brief tale of a young fellow caught up in the hurricane of history. In item (1) we see Standring was issued his Driver's Certificate from the Royal Automobile Club - Pall Mall - in December 1932. His photo accompanies this document. Item (2) presents his service record noting in great detail his 1934 enlistment, training and service with the prestigious Royal Horse Guards of the Household Cavalry - the renowned " Blues " - based at Combermere Barracks , Windsor. This… Read More

n.p. 1941. Period notebook bound in half cloth and hand titled paper covered boards with hand drawn pictorial cover plate of RAF squadron emblum. Thick 4to. Spectacularly illustrated with exceptionally detailed and artistic pen and ink drawings, cut-away diagrams, charts, tables, etc in holograph. With the outbreak of the European war, the British Royal Air Force engaged various aircraft manufacturers in the technical training of many of its fighter pilots. These flyers would attend lectures on all aspects of aerodynamics and aeronautics delivered by the company's designers, technicians, etc. This was the case with M.A Banister, the owner and author of this notebook. Possessing an immense artistic talent, Bannister filled the pages of his book with extraordinary and often breath taking sketches and diagrams. Many of these pen and ink full page drawings depict stunning full page images of various aircraft including Spitfires, Tiger Moths, Short Sterlings, etc. Also included is a plethora of hand… Read More

Washington D. C. Headquarters-U.S. Army Air Forces. 1944. Punch and clipbound in stylized titled coloured pictorial wrappers. Thin 4to. Classified "Restricted" and marked as such on each page. The December 1944, Original "Brown Cover" issue. Profusely illustrated with photographs, drawings, maps, diagrams, charts, etc. During its time, the Lockheed P-38 Lightning was considered the most sophisticated aircraft Lockheed had ever built. In February 1937, the U.S. Army Air Corps released Specification X-608, a daunting requirement that called for speed, range, and climb capabilities impossible to achieve at that time with a single-engine aircraft. In Burbank, California, a Lockheed design team led by Hall Hibbard, and assisted by a young engineer named Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, immediately began a series of designs that would culminate in the contract-winning XP-38. Jim Gerschler became project engineer on the aircraft.The XP-38 (it was many months before it was… Read More

Croydon: The London Electric Firm, 1920. Softcover. Near Fine. Oblong quarto. Measuring 10" x 12". [38]pp. Cord tied printed flexible card wrappers. Light stains on the wrappers, one leaf has pulled loose, else near fine. Trade catalog for nautical, ground, and aviation searchlights. On the rectos of each leaf is a large photograph in color of a searchlight (on a few pages two photographs appear; one photo is uncolored) with a printed description of the searchlight on the facing page. Colorful and engaging. Rare. *OCLC* locates a single copy at the Henry Ford Museum, that is almost certainly the same or similar to this with 19 pages (we assume they mean leaves) and attributes the date of 1920. Although this copy is undated that seems a reasonable guess.

[Edward Teller] Blumberg, Stanley A. and Gwinn Owens. Energy & Conflict: The Life and Times of Edward Teller, New York: Putnams, 1976. First Printing of the First US Edition. A Fine tight copy in a Near Fine price-clipped dust jacket with light edge wear to the spine edges. This copy is inscribed by Edward Teller on the front flyleaf and also laid-in is a small photograph of Teller that he has signed. In this 1976 biography of Edward Teller, father of the hydrogen bomb, the authors present exclusive interviews, memorabilia, and photos provided by Teller. and delves into each stage of his life and career. The controversial Teller spearheaded America's effort to build the hydrogen bomb, and then testified against Robert Oppenheimer in his security clearance trial. The book explains his early persecution by the Hungarian communists, then the Nazis in Germany. His role in the Manhattan Project is described in detail. Also portrayed is the development of the H-bomb, including descriptions of its evolving… Read More

1932. 1934.1942. (1) in plain red boards. Illustrated with a small gravure of the author. 24mo. (2) in pictorial printed red boards. Faint RAC shield embossing to front cover. Various official stamps to internals. Handwritten bibliography in rear pocket. 12mo. (3) in titled blue cloth. Ruled pages as per contemporary log type. 8vo. Privileged and refined from the Oxbridge mill house, Sgt. G.S. Standring was typical of many pilots who fought the Battle of Britain. The three items herein presented composite to a brief tale of a young fellow caught up in the hurricane of history. In item (1) we see Standring was issued his Driver's Certificate from the Royal Automobile Club - Pall Mall - in December 1932. His photo accompanies this document. Item (2) presents his service record noting in great detail his 1934 enlistment, training and service with the prestigious Royal Horse Guards of the Household Cavalry - the renowned " Blues " - based at Combermere Barracks , Windsor. This… Read More

n.p. 1941. Period notebook bound in half cloth and hand titled paper covered boards with hand drawn pictorial cover plate of RAF squadron emblum. Thick 4to. Spectacularly illustrated with exceptionally detailed and artistic pen and ink drawings, cut-away diagrams, charts, tables, etc in holograph. With the outbreak of the European war, the British Royal Air Force engaged various aircraft manufacturers in the technical training of many of its fighter pilots. These flyers would attend lectures on all aspects of aerodynamics and aeronautics delivered by the company's designers, technicians, etc. This was the case with M.A Banister, the owner and author of this notebook. Possessing an immense artistic talent, Bannister filled the pages of his book with extraordinary and often breath taking sketches and diagrams. Many of these pen and ink full page drawings depict stunning full page images of various aircraft including Spitfires, Tiger Moths, Short Sterlings, etc. Also included is a plethora of hand… Read More

New York: William Wood & Co., 1921. Near Fine condition but for a rusty paperclip impression in the upper margin of three leaves. See photos. NOT a library discard. A bright, shiny, clean, square, tight copy of the 1921 First American Edition. Sharp corners. Inner hinges are perfect. NO underlining. NO highlighting. NO margin notes. By Dr. Maublanc and Dr. Ratié, of the Chatres School of Flying. Introduction to English Readers by Wing-Commander Martin Flack. Translated from the French by Norman Ball. Bound in the original blue cloth, stamped in gold on the spine. This book is from the library of, and bears the ink signature of Dr. Arthur Frank Payne (1876-1939) of Newton, New Jersey. Dr. Payne earned the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy at the University of Chicago and that of Master of Arts at Columbia University. In 1917 he served as executive secretary of the Military Training Commission in New York. In 1918 he was director of the United States War Department surveys. He… Read More

Washington D. C. Headquarters-U.S. Army Air Forces. 1944. Punch and clipbound in stylized titled coloured pictorial wrappers. Thin 4to. Classified "Restricted" and marked as such on each page. The December 1944, Original "Brown Cover" issue. Profusely illustrated with photographs, drawings, maps, diagrams, charts, etc. During its time, the Lockheed P-38 Lightning was considered the most sophisticated aircraft Lockheed had ever built. In February 1937, the U.S. Army Air Corps released Specification X-608, a daunting requirement that called for speed, range, and climb capabilities impossible to achieve at that time with a single-engine aircraft. In Burbank, California, a Lockheed design team led by Hall Hibbard, and assisted by a young engineer named Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, immediately began a series of designs that would culminate in the contract-winning XP-38. Jim Gerschler became project engineer on the aircraft.The XP-38 (it was many months before it was… Read More

Croydon: The London Electric Firm, 1920. Softcover. Near Fine. Oblong quarto. Measuring 10" x 12". [38]pp. Cord tied printed flexible card wrappers. Light stains on the wrappers, one leaf has pulled loose, else near fine. Trade catalog for nautical, ground, and aviation searchlights. On the rectos of each leaf is a large photograph in color of a searchlight (on a few pages two photographs appear; one photo is uncolored) with a printed description of the searchlight on the facing page. Colorful and engaging. Rare. *OCLC* locates a single copy at the Henry Ford Museum, that is almost certainly the same or similar to this with 19 pages (we assume they mean leaves) and attributes the date of 1920. Although this copy is undated that seems a reasonable guess.