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AËRONAUTICS: An Abridgment of Aëronautical Specifications Filed at the Patent Office From A.D.1815 to A.D. 1891
by Brewer, Griffith and Patrick Y. Alexander
- Used
- very good
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Very good
- Seller
-
Los Angeles, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Octavo (8 1/2 X 5 5/8 inches) London: Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, 1893. Original First Edition. 160 pages, illustrated with drawings of early ideas for achieving manned flight prior to the Wright Brothers. original blue cloth hardcover beveled boards, with title and authors names in gilt, framing a, centered, gilded image of a man descending in a parachute (shown also in the text in black and white as "patent No. 10937 A.D.1888").
Very good condition, minor scuffing to front cover and spine, not affecting contents. Small rubber stamp of a previous owner in upper right corner of title page, over an inked notation ("1.1. 95"), and another unobtrusive notation at bottom right corner of same page - neither affecting text or contents. Minor crimping of upper right corner thru page 13, also not affecting text or contents that are both very clean.
There are more than 275 patent entries: from Balloons (" ... captive, combined with aeroplanes, photography from ....") to Flying Machines, to Kites, and Parachutes; each with a description.
There is a "Name-Index,"a "Subject-Index," and several blank pages for "Aeronautical Notes."
From the preface: "Many of the specifications describe inventions which are no doubt impracticable; some are even ridiculously absurd and are probably the result of dreams. All these, however, are equally included with the ingenious inventions, as in weeding them from the remainder we should make the work incomplete and therefore of little value. Besides, many practical suggestions may be gleaned from the most absurd inventions; and is it not premature to criticize a question which is still unsolved?"
"It is to be hoped that so many failures will not deter inventors from still striving to master the great problem of aerial navigation; for it should be remembered that aerial navigation is not an impossibility but only a difficulty, which may be mastered by careful study and perseverance."
The authors were friends with the Wright Brothers.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Caravan Book Store
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 927
- Title
- AËRONAUTICS:
- Author
- Brewer, Griffith and Patrick Y. Alexander
- Book Condition
- Used - Very good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- Original First Edition
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1893
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Bookseller catalogs
- Old and Rare; Aviation; Flight; First Edition; Antiquarian; Patents; Early Manned Flight;
Terms of Sale
Caravan Book Store
Prices are net. All items subject to prior sale. Postage in most cases will be under $8 but can vary by weight and distance. California sales tax is 9.50%. Returns accepted with prior notice within 5 days of receipt at original purchase price, provided item is in same condition as received. Payment by credit card, PayPal (caravanbookstore@yahoo.com), or check drawn on U.S. funds.
About the Seller
Caravan Book Store
Biblio member since 2019
Los Angeles, California
About Caravan Book Store
For more than 65 years, we have specialized in rare and out of print books on the Western experience, satisfying a vast and varied clientele. Our focus is on early California and Los Angeles, represented by books, ephemera, paintings, and prints. Fine press, printing history, literature, gastronomy, aviation, railroads, and voyages are also available. Our store opened in downtown Los Angeles in 1954, and is now closed; but we are still available by phone, regular mail, and email. We issue occasional catalogs online.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Beveled
- Beveled edges, or beveled boards, describe a technique of binding in which the edges of book boards have been cut into slanted...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Remainder
- Book(s) which are sold at a very deep discount to alleviate publisher overstock. Often, though not always, they have a remainder...
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