[Photo Album]: Parks Air College & American Airlines

1930. Hardcover. Near Fine. Folio. Measuring 10" x 12.5". Screw-bound brown cloth over stiff paper boards with "Parks Air College & American Airlines. Herbert L. Keating" stamped in gilt on the front board. Contains 251 sepia-toned or black and white gelatin silver photographs measuring between 1.5" x 2" and 8" x10", some with captions. Near fine album with near fine photographs.

A photo album kept by New York native, Herbert L. Keating during his pilot training, teaching career, and service with American Airlines between 1935 and 1960. Keating attended the Parks Air College in Saint Louis in 1935 and the early part of the album follows his training at the school. While studying to be a pilot and aeronautical engineer, he showed a knack for photography, documenting his time at school and his later career. Early photos show multiple aircraft used by students, men in their pilot's gear, and students working on craft in the hangers. Keating features an abundance of different planes throughout the album from early teaching models to passenger planes. Most of these photos were taken at the school with some clearly commercial or teaching photos captioned with make and model. Some of the photos show aerial shots of planes and the college. When he wasn't flying Keating participated in activities at the school including playing on the baseball team, which is seen in a group shot. A newspaper clipping here reads, "Engineering graduate Herbert L. Keating to head aeronautical school at Oxford U." It continues, "Keating...has been retained by Oxford University of Louisville, Ky., to serve as head of the aeronautical Ground School of that institution."

After his teaching career, Keating spent the next 42 years working as an aeronautical engineer for American Airlines. This time is documented in candid images from various air fields as well as professionally produced images marked as from American Airlines in the captions. Keating also records the inner workings of planes with detailed images of cockpits, engines, and other parts of the aircraft. Keating is photographed with young engineers, presenting them with certificates and shaking their hands after completing their courses. He was part of American Airlines Retired Pioneers and OX-5 Aviation Pioneers Glenn H. Curtiss Wing in Hammondsport in his later years. Keating also kept a variety of ephemera spanning his career from school through American Airlines. These include newspaper clippings, maps, routing charts, programs, among other things.

Parks Air College was founded in 1927 by Oliver Parks and "was America's first federally certified school of aviation." Parks moved the operation to St. Louis in 1928 after obtaining 100 acres for his new airfield. By the 1930s an engineering program had developed at the school, of which Keating was an early graduate. To complete this training engineers had to "design, construct and test fly their own aircraft." They eventually merged with Saint Louis University and are now known as Parks College of Engineering, Aviation, and Technology.

An extensive collection of material detailing the early career of an aeronautical engineer.