AVIATION

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. At the foot of the second page, in another hand (no doubt that of the recipient) are written Doyle’s details in red ink. Signed ‘D. A. Boyle’ and addressed to ‘Dear Mr. Dean’. He is returning the photograph he has sent, ‘endorsed in the way you ask’, but his wife agrees with him that ‘the photo you have got hold of is a very bad one so I am sending you another - also enclosed - which I hope you will use for your collection and destroy the other’.

One page, 12mo, good condition. Text: Thank you for your letter of congratulations, Mr Store is still in Kimberley so I cann not get his autograph for your collection. | I enclose a snap -shot of the lion cubs [not present] Juba and Joker and myself. Note: During October 30 - November 5 1931 - with Mr. A. Gordon Store - Peggy Salaman undertook a 7050 mile marathon flight in a de Havilland Puss Moth from Lympne in Kent to Cape Town in South Africa which lasted 5 days 6 hours and 40 minutes.

21pp, 12mo. In unpaginated stapled booklet of twelve leaves, in light-blue wraps. Printed on front cover: 'London Gliding Club | PROGRESS LOG BOOK', with space for the trainee's name and no. In fair condition, aged and worn, in worn covers, with one central horizontal fold. The trainee has written his name on the front cover, but this has been worn away, and it appears to read 'L Sennett' or 'L Bennett'. Printed on the first page is a list of twenty-four 'Flying Training Exercises'.

Cobham started his National Aviation Day displays (known as "Cobham's Flying Circus") in 1932. These displays were a combination of barnstorming and joyriding by a team of skilled pilots in up to fourteen aircraft, ranging from single-seaters to modern airliners. The show toured the country, calling at hundreds of sites from regular airfields to fields cleared for the occasion. 1p., 4to. In good condition, lightly aged, worn and ruckled. Nicely printed in black over a halftone red map of Great Britain and Ireland.

A significant collection of documents relating to the secret effort, at the end of the Second World War, to prepare officers of the British and allied armed forces for the coming occupation of Germany. Excessively scarce: the only other holdings appear to be in the British National Archives, and the Maurice M. Goodner papers (OAC), the latter relating to a later Parisian branch of the school.

A charming and evocative production. Cards in very good condition; album in good condition, with light signs of age and wear. Initial note: 'This Travel Album is issued without charge to hold a complete set of twenty-five "A Day on the Airway" pictures, as issued with all packings of Sarony Virginia Cigarettes, plain or cork tipped.' The album comprises eight pages printed in black and green, on thick paper, stitched into black card wraps. Embossed on the front cover in faded gold is the title and an illustration of the plane (an Imperial Airways 'Argosy') flying in clouds.

The collection is lightly-aged, but in good overall condition. It consists of five undated typescripts, twenty-four black and white photographs, and a few items of correspondence. The typescripts: ONE. Early draft of Longford's 1953 autobiography 'Born to Believe', published in 1953. 4to, 58 pp, paginated 1-55, 9A, 9B and 52A. Ends midway through Chapter 6. There are a number of autograph emendations, and the typescript exhibits differences from the published version. A second typed draft of half a page of text covers the earlier draft, which is still legible beneath.

9 x 14 cm black and white postcard. In frail condition, aged, worn and chipped, with near-vertical central crease repaired on reverse with archival tape. Removed from album, and with traces of newsprint adhering to the reverse. The caption scratched into the plate and appearing in small white capitals at the foot of the image. Shows Cody in near-profile, seated at the controls of a biplane which is pointing to the left of the image, with a Native American in robes and headdress seated to his right. The central part of the plane is shown, with woodland behind it.

8pp., 12mo. Stapled and unbound, and with last leaf a perforated subscription form. In fair condition, on aged and lightly-creased paper, with rusting to staple.

48 + [4]pp., 8vo. Stapled. In green printed wraps. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn. Divided into ten chapters, including 'Royal Air Force Tests used in the Present Investigation' and 'Types of Respiration, and the Respiratory Apparatus in Men and Women'. An interesting document: the Royal Air Force only having been in existence for six years. With stamp, shelfmark and label of the Board of Education Reference Library. Four copies on COPAC, and uncommon.

4pp., 8vo. Bifolium. Printed in small type. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper, with short closed tears at edges of folds. An interesting perspective on the British aviation industry, from what Dr T. R. Bromund of Yale University has described as 'the industrial wing of the Empire lobby'. The opening paragraph reads: 'Owing to the recent resignation of the entire Board, with one exception, of the British Overseas Airways Corporation, the public has become dimly aware that British Air Transport is facing a crisis, but as yet has little or no idea of the magnitude of the issues involved.

80pp., 8vo. Stapled and unbound. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. On front cover: 'Each Book in this Catalogue is written by an Expert and is written so you can understand it'. Many items illustrated with representations of the binding. Index of subjects on p.2, ranging from 'Abrasives and Abrasive Wheels' to 'Wiring Diagrams', and including section on 'Automobile Books', pp.5-14 (Charts, Ignition Systems, Lighting, Questions and Answers, Repairing, Starting Systems, Trouble Charts, Welding), 'Gasoline Engines', pp.15-18, and 'Aviation', pp.19-22.

Eight items, in good condition on aged paper, with the three photographic illustrations darkened. In blue card folder. ONE: Mimeographed typed biography of 'Ronald Victor Brian Branston'. On BBC Press Service letterhead; May 1965. 1p., 4to. TWO: Mimeographed typed 'Who's Who'. 2pp., foolscap 8vo. With entries on nine balloonists (from Albert van den Bemden to Anthony Smith, and including Charles Dollfus, 'curator of France's air museum') and two passengers. THREE: Mimeographed typed 'Topographical Background'. 2pp., foolscap 8vo.

Helm's promotion on 3 September 1940 to the rank of Flying Officer (41020) is recorded in the London Gazette, 15 October 1940. After the war he joined the International Civil Aviation Authority, working in Iran and Zambia, and was elected to the Membership of the Institute of Navigation, Royal Geological Society, in 1971. A total of 59pp., 8vo, of pencil notes and tables by Helm, relating to the RAF in the Second World War, with 6 original photographs.

ONE: Mimeographed typed document titled 'Zambianization of the Air Traffic Services Division of the Department of Civil Aviation'. 7pp., foolscap 8vo, with eighth page carrying table of contents. Undated [mid 1960s]. Given that the plans accompanying this item are initialed by Helm, it seems reasonable to assume that this report is also his work.

A significant collection of documents relating to the secret effort, at the end of the Second World War, to prepare officers of the British and allied armed forces for the coming occupation of Germany. Excessively scarce: the only other holdings appear to be in the British National Archives, and the Maurice M. Goodner papers (OAC), the latter relating to a later Parisian branch of the school.

4to, 22 pp. In original green printed wraps. Frontispiece photograph on art paper, inscribed in bottom right-hand corner 'A M. Maggs Bros booksellers | Souvenir de la guerre | Pce. Laforge de Vitanval | Madrid 12 Aout 16'. Text clear and complete. In fair condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. No diagrams. The invention is described as 'un Aéro-frein ou frein automatique pour aéroplanes et toutes espèce de machines volantes, empêchant le capotement des appareils, en cas d'accident ou d'arrêt subit du moteur'.

4to: [iii] + 15 + [ii] pp. Ten-leaf stapled pamphlet. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Slight rusting to staples. In small hand in red ink at head of title: 'M.S. 834 - 21/1/37'. Giving the texts of two proposed constitution alterations, 'Aviation' and 'Marketing', with the cases for and against, the referendums on which are both to be taken on 6 March 1937. 1 cm stamp in red ink of the Webster Collection at foot of final page, numbered 4190.

Not published. Cyclostyled on the rectos only. 8vo: 165 pp followed by 28 pages of 'figures'. Contained in a buff 'Apex Vertical Filing Folder'. Very good, on aged paper. Complete and clear. Stamped 'UNCLASSIFIED' on front cover, with manuscript reference 'GVC/54T'. Preface reads 'The present work is the English rendering of a partly revised German manuscript which the Author prepared for the Leipzig publishers Bibliographisches Institut to be published as volume 49 of their series Meyers kleine Handbücher.

Originally on a piece of paper roughly 405 x 315 mm, with the dimensions of the print roughly 295 x 250 mm. In poor condition: torn and stained and laid down on a piece of thin card, and with the extremities of the margins chipped. Loss to top-left and bottom-right corners. The loss to the top corner includes a corner of the print (roughly 40 x 20 mm), but this only features the sky. A scarce item, with the caption continuing 'The Balloon ascended at 3 O clock in the afternoon and descended safe near Tilbury Fort in Essex at 20 Minutes past four'.

8vo bifolium: 4 pp. On art paper. Unbound. On aged and creased paper. Clear and complete. Arranged as a magazine article, with the text in two columns. Six photographs of the exterior and interior of the plane. Two diagrams, including one full-page and extremely detailed cross-section, captioned 'The Bristol Bombay Bomber-Transport | (Two 1,010 h.p. Bristol Pegasus XXII motors).'

Novelist and writer on aeronautics (1885-1968). All items one page, quarto. As a whole good, though grubby, but some items with pin holes, closed tears, etc. Most bearing the R.S.A. stamp and some docketed. Three items with enclosures. The items are dry communications relating to the arranging of R.A.S. lectures at the R.S.A.

Historian of aviation (1909-81) at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. Eight items, various formats. Very good. LETTER ONE (two pages, octavo, 14 January 1949, on V & A letterhead): 'As a very new fellow of the Society I hesitate to burden you with reading the enclosed [an article on 'Father Gusmao: the first practical pioneer in aeronautics', not present], but I thought there might be some chance of its appearing in the Journal. It is too historical for the Roy. Aeronautical Society's Journal and too aeronautical for the others, so I am stuck!