Mes Trois Grandes Courses. Avec un Sonnet d'Edmond Rostand.
Paris: Librairie Hachette et Cie. 1912. First edition. 8vo. (viii), 159, (1) pp. Publisher's light blue buckram, gilt lettered and illustrated to the spine and upper board, top edge gilt, pictorial bookplate of Hugh Oswald Short to the front pastedown featuring Pegasus (a gas ballon) and a Sunderland flying boat. 32 black and white photographic plates plus three maps on folding sheet to the rear. Very good. Oswald Short (1883-1969) was a co-founder of the aeronautical firm Short Brothers. Originally interested in ballooning, he and his brothers Eustace and Horace saw the huge potential commercial in building aeroplanes. The First World War accelerated the growth of the company as they began production of military aircraft for the war effort and went on to build many other military and civilian planes over the succeeding decades including the Sunderland featured on his bookplate. Item #43587
Price: £75.00