The AEROPLANE

Signed and dated on the front end paper by

Claude Grahame-White
July 1931

Published by T C and E C Jack, London 1914. First edition.  280 pages and well illustrated with 18 photographic plates plus drawings and diagrams and a pictorial colour frontispiece.

A Near Fine condition hardback book in brown cloth covers with black titles and inset photograph. Clean, tight and solidly bound. A first class copy of this 110 year old book.

A very early aviation book telling the story of flight up to the start of WWI and several chapters of explanation covering practicalities, aircraft types, uses and a speculative look at ‘Twenty Years Hence’. Written in collaboration with the foremost air correspondent of the day, Harry Harper, this is a fascinating period read.

Claude Grahame-White (1879-1959) was an aviation pioneer and the most famous aviator in Britain before WWI. He could be regarded as Britain’s, if not the world’s, foremost all-round aeronaut. Grahame-White was the only man ever to hold the three most coveted gold medals for flying: from the Royal Aero Club, the Aero Club de France and the Aero Club of America.  He taught himself to fly, and soloed without a single lesson, becoming the first Briton to hold an internationally recognised pilot’s certificate. Single handed he developed ‘London Aerodrome’ at Hendon which was extremely popular with the public as the site of flying displays. He opened the first British school of flying there becoming the pioneer instructor, and he also set up his own aircraft design and manufacturing company – the buildings still exist as part of the RAF Museum at Hendon.

When war came, Grahame-White was briefly in RNAS service. On 5 September 1914, he patrolled over London looking for a reported  Zeppelin, supposedly the first air patrol in defence of a city. He took part in the Cuxhaven raid but had to ditch in the sea before reaching the target. After resigning his commission, he turned his energies to aircraft production with some success. He continued to write with Harper including ‘Air Power: Naval, Military, Commercial’ (1917), which was the first to  predict that the next war would be won through the bombing of cities.

After the war, protracted legal wrangles with the government over monies owed him for aircraft production and for Hendon (compulsorily acquired) soured him on the aviation industry. Instead he took up real estate, and made a fortune in Britain and America. Despite his unique contribution to world aviation, he was never honoured. No doubt his law-suit against the Government had much to do with this – particularly as he won it! 

A pleasing copy of an important early aviation book written and signed by one of Britain’s most famous pioneer aviators.