WWI Aviation books cover art

YavorD · 10 July 2009, 06:12 AM

Cover art by Serge Jamois.

Nice back cover too, but with a wrong ISBN (9782914017138 instead of 9782914017084).

Quote:

André Hauet
Les avions Caudron : Tome I (Collection Histoire de l’Aviation n° 11)
Éditions Lela Presse, Outreau, 2001, 256 pages (ISBN: 2914017081)

Regards,
Yavor

harryd · 12 July 2009, 12:33 PM

Hi Greg,

This thread has been a great joy to go through - so many good artists. Did mean to contact earlier, but have lost track of time these last few weeks as I have lost a very close friend in a flying accident.

So many times I thought I know that book and then there are so many I have not seen. I missed some links, and so hope these have not been seen before and are of interest to the Aerodrome chaps. Several books are repeat buys, like you I can't resist the interesting package with an alternative cover!

Harryd

Gregvan · 13 July 2009, 06:11 PM

Hi Harry,

Thanks for posting those - great covers!! You're certainly not the only one who has bought 2 copies of the same book simply because of the different cover art.

Here is the latest FABULOUS book from the boys and ladies at Cross & Cockade International. It's an instant classic! Front cover art by John Young:

dpolglaze · 16 July 2009, 01:25 PM

The cover is a bit faded on this one, but I like it. Artist unknown.

Dan

Romani · 17 July 2009, 09:54 AM

Osprey has published a set of 40 postcards of assorted color plates from their books for the princely sum of 10 pounds sterling. There are several about the Great War, only one about airplanes, but is really good

Artwork by Peter Dennis
Dogfight between 32nd Squadron RAF and Jasta 15
Taken from Campaign 197: Amiens 1918

Scanned to actual size, I heartily recommend purchasing the set, one of the best ideas Osprey has had.

Romani · 20 July 2009, 11:30 AM

I am pondering purchasing this book, if Norman Franks wrote a introduction it must be good. Does it have any interesting information besides stuff on the usual suspects, Boelcke, Richthofen and Udet?

The covers are pretty, makes one wish those paint schemes were real!

Gregvan · 20 July 2009, 12:06 PM

Hi Romani,

The cover art to the edition of "German War Birds" you posted is by 1930's British artist Howard Leigh, who illustrated many of the "Biggles" books and so on.

"Vigilant" was the pseudonym of Cluad W. Sykes, a prolific British writer and translator of the 1930's. Besides writing the similar "French War Birds" (1937)and the biography "Richthofen, Red Knight of the Air" (1934), he translated a number of very good works by Haupt Heydemarck into English, and did a very nice job of it: "Double-Decker C.666", "Flying Section 17," and "War Flying in Macedonia" (the latter contains some very good tales about Eschwege).

Since he had read and translated so many German works, Sykes was particularly well-suited to write "German War Birds". It's an odd collecyion of tales about some very well-known and some obscure German airmen, still (nonetheless) seen through a British writer's lens. "Early Days, West and East" is a chapter that tells about 1914-15, including storeis about Emil Uzelac, and the next chapter retells the tale of Gunther Plueschow's adventures in the Far East. "Boelcke's Own" is actually a pretty decent history of

Jasta Boelcke. There is the obligatory chapter about MvR, followed by Chapter VI about balloon busters Bormann and von Roeth. There are tales about a German who flew the mail into the besieged Germans in Przemysl, Von Cossel and Windisch's daring exploits behind Russian lines, and Falke and Felmy's exploits in the Middle East. He covers von Schleich, Eschwege, and Flashar's leadership of Jasta 5 on the first day of the Cambrai battle.

All of these are paraphrased from first-hand accounts that can be found in various German anthologies. However, they are a good source of some pretty obscure material. Buy it.

dpolglaze · 28 July 2009, 04:16 PM

I still have more covers - just have to find them and take pictures. For now, here are a few I don't think have been posted.

unknown

Can't believe we haven't seen many of these so far, but we haven't:
Title of work - Red White & Blue - by Jim Dietz

Title of work - Yanks Mount Up - by Jim Dietz

Dan

YavorD · 29 July 2009, 01:10 AM

Another volume in the series (4th), 1st Corps Aviation Otryad. Design by A. O. Alexandrov.
Regards,
Yavor

Gregvan · 31 July 2009, 12:46 PM

Quite different in style and approach from Yavor's elegant posts; nonetheless, here are some more old pulp covers:

Sorry, I don't know the artist for "Battle Birds" of January 1934. Hannover CL-types were a favorite of pulp artists, I suppose because info was available on them.

One doesn't see too many Siemens Schuckerts in the pulps. Reference material must have been hard to come by! "Sky Fighters" February 1935

"Air Trails" of September 1931. Cover art by the well-known Frank Tinsley. There certainly was a variety of air-war titles available.