Aeronautique

Paris: Artcurial, 2008. This is a near fine softcover copy with almost no wear. Completely clean inside and out, except for a discrete small handstamp from one of the major New York museums, on the lower part of the title-page. Complete with DVD attached to inside rear cover. Text in French. This is a sale catalog, the first one in a series, on the history of French aviation. The sale was held in Paris at the Hotel Marcel Dassault on October 11-12, 2008. Sale number: 01533. The first part of the sale marked 1ere Partie had three sections: 1) letters and manuscripts of Jean Mermoz; and 2) material documenting the Bleriot Type XI plane; and 3) Collection Monsieur A. et a divers. Jean Mermoz (1901- 1936) was a French aviator, viewed as a hero by other pilots such as Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and in his native France, where many schools bear his name. He first met Antoine de Saint Exupery when they both worked at the Compagnie Générale Aéropostale. In 1933, Mermoz was appointed inspector general by Air France. That same year, he arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he and Saint-Exupéry both worked for Aeroposta Argentina, which would later become Aerolíneas Argentinas. Mermoz and Saint-Exupéry flew many dangerous flights for the then new air company. Unfortunately during a flight on December 7, 1936 Mermoz was lost at sea. The second section of the sale contained photographs, posters and other graphic ephemera about the Bleriot Type XI plane. including one of these actual planes dubbed "Traversee de la Manche" from 1909. There is a last section of the sale marked 2eme Partie which contained more French aviation photographs, posters and ephemera. 385 lots in the complete sale. All illustrated in color. Bibliography. 11" high X 9" wide, 122 pages. This book will be securely wrapped and packed in a sturdy box and shipped with tracking. . Soft Cover. Near Fine.