WWI Aviation books cover art

[tcrean7828]

Originally Posted by Kilian

how old is that Tom?

Mate,
You can still get those model's on E-bay but they run for about $20.00 american each and when I got them they were cheap.

ttfn

tcrean7828

tom

[Frederic Mason]

Cheers; This thread is great - it keeps you busy tracking down some of the titles and broke from buying them??? Altogether a fun experience in any case. Keep it flying. Got to hit the library and pick up the ones from interlibrary loan system to see if the cost is justified for the purchase. Up and At 'em; Garry F.

[Gregvan]

Hi,

OK, Garry F. Here you go, with a couple of non-English titles.

This is Air Power of the Kingdom of Bulgaria, Part II by Fark Ood. It's one of a four-part series published in softcover format (similar in size to the Squadron/Signal "In Action" series), on the history of Bulgarian air power. Fortunately the text is in both Bulgarian and English, and the book contains many wonderful, sharp photos of Bulgarian aircraft and airmen.


Here's Les avions de Guynemer by Philippe Osché. It's a nice little softcover from 1985. French text only, but wonderful illustrations.

[Gregvan]

For a change of pace, here are some nice graphics from classic German first-hand accounts of the war years:

[dpolglaze]

This is Air Power of the Kingdom of Bulgaria, Part II by Fark Ood. It's one of a four-part series published in softcover format (similar in size to the Squadron/Signal "In Action" series), on the history of Bulgarian air power. Fortunately the text is in both Bulgarian and English, and the book contains many wonderful, sharp photos of Bulgarian aircraft and airmen.

Here's Les avions de Guynemer by Philippe Osché. It's a nice little softcover from 1985. French text only, but wonderful illustrations.

Greg, I had just taken pictures of both the Bulgarian book and Osche's Guynemer. I can supplement a bit ...

The Bulgarian cover was painted by Mariy Chernov. Philippe Osché did most of the illustrations in the Guynemer book, including the back cover stuff, but I think the front cover was A. Pelletier.

More covers to come.

Dan

[Kirk R. Lowry]

Bonjour Greg

I quite enjoy considering the covers for those editions of memoirs and biographies published in Germany following the war ... never having seen such as those that you posted before. I find it interesting that while we all will quibble over the colour a spinner is painted, or some such point on a cover, the sensibilities of a previous generation have been left behind. It maybe to ruffle feathers, but, I wonder if art has been replaced with illustration ... which, please note, is but a distinction and not a judgement.

Salut!
Kirk

[Kirk R. Lowry]

Bonjour mes amis!

I hope you enjoy casting an eye to these covers which depict 'Albatrosa D.III Oef' in combat in Poland during the conflict with Soviet forces.

From Flight Of Eagles by Robert F. Karolevitz and Ross S. Fenn and published by Modern Press in 1974. The front of the jacket does not depict any aircraft and the image, a work by James B. Deneen, is actually of the back of the jacket.



The cover of Pierwasze SAMOLOTY MYŚLIWSKIE lotnictwa polsikego, by Tomasz Goworek and published by Sigma Not in 1991 has a painting by Jarosław Wróbel on the front cover (which actually wraps around to include the rear cover as well).



Both are remarkable books and both feature an Albatros D.III (Oef) in a remarkably similar attitude.

Salut!
Kirk

[Gregvan]

Hi All,

I'm glad you liked the style of those wartime German books, Kirk - so do I! The use of woodcut-style graphics and bird of prey imagery was very popular for such books in the war years and immediately after. Here's my very battered but highly treasured copy of Bayerische Fliger im Weltkriege, a history and anthology published in Munich in 1919. The artist who did the cover and marvelous little illumination-style plates which start each chapter is identified as Edward Henel, a veteran of the bayerischen Fliegertruppe:


Here's the anthology In der Luft unbesiegt, published in Munich in 1923. It's another wonderful anthology of first-hand accounts, edited by Georg Paul Neumann. Such works are marvelous sources of the aircrew memoirs which have figured prominently in my own books.

[dpolglaze]

Greg,

Here's a couple more bird of prey images, one German and one not.

Unsere Luftstreitkräfte, compiled by Walter von Eberhardt, published in 1930. This enormous book is probably the best volume on the German Air Weapon in WWI, containing over 550 pages, plus a list of German airmen who dies in WWI. This book is loaded with information, illustrations, etc... Commands a high price, but worth it.



Clapp's History of the 17th Aero Squadron also has a bird of prey woodcut cover.



Dan

[dpolglaze]

So it looks like that alternate image host isn't so good. In fact, it doesn't even seem to be around any more. Here's the ones that went missing.

Arkadiusz Wróbel







J.D. Carrick



Jo Kotula





Dan