Search Results: Aviation from Charles Agvent

Hamden, CT. Letter. Some light wrinkling, otherwise Fine with exceptional content. A two-page AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED (ALS) to Signor Cameramer on both sides of a 6" x 3-3/4" Deepwood Drive index card with two holes punched in the left margin. In full: "Many thanks for your letter, for your generous invitation, and for the copies of the Quaderni. These last few years I have delivered many lectures -- especially last year at Harvard. The result has been that I have now taken a 'vow' not to speak in public for a number of years. My many visits to Italy have been a constant joy. I hope to make many more, and soon. I particularly wish--for the first time--to visit Turin. I hope then to have the pleasure of calling on and hearing more from you about the work of the A.C.I. I have been reading the Quaderni with much interest. I particularly appreciated the paper on the sonnets of Belli, and the pages of Mario Praz -- always so largely master of his theme. Many thanks again for your letter, and much regret… Read More

Hamden, CT, 6 October 1974. Letter. Some light wrinkling, otherwise Fine with exceptional content. A two-page AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED (ALS) to Mr. [Dave] Gwinn, a retired TWA pilot and writer on aviation topics. On both sides of his 6" x 6-7/8" Deepwood Drive stationery. In full: "I have a built-in respect approaching awe for air pilots. I once spent a week-end among a group of them in their 'rest hotel' at Bod Hamburg outside Frankfurt-am-Main-- what fun and good talk and that intimidating authority you have arising from your life of expertise and responsibility. Your letter gave me great pleasure. I'm still writing at 77 1/2 and your kind words have given me a lively boost. Many thanks. All cordial best wishes to you and yours. Sincerely yours, Thornton Wilder." In red ink at the top of the letter, Wilder has written, "Last day on Martha's Vineyard" and the date.

New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, (1942). First Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine in glassine and a Near Fine slipcase with sunning to the outer edges. Bernard Lamotte. Bound in publisher's blue leather-backed boards. Copy #198 of 500 numbered copies SIGNED by the author and the illustrator Bernard Lamotte. Saint-Exupery is best known, of course, for writing THE LITTLE PRINCE. Usually found without the slipcase and with severe rubbing to the spine, this copy has no rubbing to the spine but does have some minor chipping to the spine tips and some soiling to the covers. What appears to be original glassine protects the book. Of the thirty or so copies we have seen or handled over the years, this is the first we have encountered with a glassine cover.

New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, (1942). First Edition. Hardcover. Just about Fine, lacking the slipcase. Bernard Lamotte. Bound in publisher's blue leather-backed boards. Copy #31 of 500 numbered copies SIGNED by the author and the illustrator Bernard Lamotte. Saint-Exupery is best known, of course, for writing THE LITTLE PRINCE. Usually found with severe rubbing to the spine, this copy has virtually no wear but the slightest rubbing to the spine tips.

London: Simon Miller, 1659. First Edition. Hardcover. Minor foxing, pencil notes on endpapers; small chip to head of spine. Near Fine and very scarce. Small duodecimo (3-1/8" x 5-1/2") bound in early calf with gilt-ruled covers and gilt decoration and lettering on the spine; [xii], 51, [7 - ads] pages. First separate printing and First English Edition of Roger Bacon's letter to William of Paris that first appeared in Dee's BACON'S EPISTOLAE, published in Hamburg in 1618. Bacon begins this long essay denying the existence of magic, but concludes showing how to create a "Philosophers Egg." He writes about optics, gunpowder (Bacon is believed to have introduced gunpowder--a Chinese invention--to the West), and petroleum in warfare. Bacon makes some bold futurist statements such as “admirable Artificial Instruments” of locomotion (“It's possible to make a Chariot move with an inestimable swiftnesse and this motion to be without the help of any living creature”), of flight (“It's possible to make… Read More

New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, (1973). First Edition. Hardcover. Small adhesive remnant at the bottom of the front free endpaper. Near Fine in a Near Fine dustwrapper. SIGNED on the title page by the author and by the subject's son, aviator Charles Lindbergh, who wrote the foreword. The first biography of the liberal Minnesota congressman of the early 20th century known for his ties to the farming and labor vote. Illustrated with 16-page inset of glossy black-and-white photos as well as political cartoons throughout.

Detroit: Alved, 1947. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good, without dustwrapper. Illustrated with photographs and drawings. This copy INSCRIBED and SIGNED by the author on the front endpaper to an early automobile pioneer: "To Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker,/My old friend of early/motor car days/with all good wishes/and admiration for/his contribution then/and since to higher/principles of living/and working./Eugene Lewis/Detroit/July 26' 48." Medal of Honor-winning aviator Eddie Rickenbacker served as Pershing's staff driver before he became a combat pilot. He first gained fame in the formative years of auto racing as a driver. Before owning and operating the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he participated in some of the first 500-mile races held there finishing in tenth place in 1914. Rickenbacker flew a total of 300 combat hours, reportedly more than any other U.S. pilot in World War I, and his 26 victories as a pilot constituted an American record that stood until World War II. After the war, he started… Read More

Framed Autograph. But for a small nick or two to the frame, Fine. Bold SIGNATURE of Earhart attractively matted and framed to an overall size of 11-3/4" x 16-1/2".

Framed Photograph. Fine. A hand-colored, original 8" x 10" photograph of a painting by American artist Howard Chandler Christy, dated March 1943, of the famed aviator, Eddie Rickenbacker. INSCRIBED and SIGNED by the subject "To my good friend/ 'Charles Froesch'/ Eddie Rickenbacker." Nicely matted and framed circa 1943 to an overall size of 11" x 14". Charles Froesch was an author who wrote much on aviation, including the book AIRPORT PLANNING, as well as an inventor who held several patents. He had a long-term friendship with Rickenbacker. Medal of Honor-winning aviator Eddie Rickenbacker served as Pershing's staff driver before he became a combat pilot. He first gained fame in the formative years of auto racing as a driver. Before owning and operating the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he participated in some of the first 500-mile races held there finishing in tenth place in 1914. Rickenbacker flew a total of 300 combat hours, reportedly more than any other U.S. pilot in World War I, and his 26… Read More

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1953. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine in a Very Good original glassine with a short closed tear at the front and paper remnants adhered at the rear. Red cloth with silver lettering and decorations. The special Presentation Edition of the First Edition of Lindbergh's SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS issued in an unstated limitation of 1000 copies. This is Copy #672 SIGNED in full by the author.

Philadelphia: Joseph A. Speel, 1850. First Edition. Hardcover. Scattered light to moderate foxing with little effect on the plates. Very light wear to the spine head, the cloth bright and fresh. Close to Fine and quite scarce as such. Octavo, in the publisher's brown cloth; 310 pages with Errata slip tipped in. THE FIRST AMERICAN BOOK ON AERONAUTICS. Illustrated with an engraved frontispiece portrait and 12 lithographic plates, most illustrating famous balloons. Wise is considered to be the first American aeronaut of any consequence and made numerous contributions to the field including experiments with parachutes and the construction of air balloons.