(AERO CLUB OF AMERICA) EARLY AVIATION ADVERTISING MATERIALS
Large, varied lot of 29 early aviation advertising articles and catalogues, from the archives of the Aero Club of America, the first national organization in the United States to license pilots. Includes: "Catalogue of Seaplanes, Engines and Spare Parts" (Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office), 1920, 32pp. 4to., offering for sale surplus seaplanes, flying boats, kite balloons, and engines of the U.S. Navy, most notably several types made by Curtiss, and featuring a Curtiss NC-4 seaplane on the front cover; blank entry form, 2pp. long 4to., for the Raymond Orteig prize, which promised $25,000 to the first person to fly non-stop between Paris and New York, eventually claimed by Charles Lindbergh in 1927; a 1914 catalog for the Sloane Aeroplane Company, offering a selection of engines for sale; a flyer, 1p. 4to., advertising 1910 Brussels International Exhibition, featuring an image of a dirigible decorated with the flags of the world flying over the city; "The Aeroplane Blue Book: A Directory of Aircraft Finance" (London: The "Aeroplane" & General Publishing Co., Ltd.), 1918, 95pp. 8vo., a business directory of hundreds of aircraft manufacturing companies, with the back matter containing advertisements for manufacturers including Supermarine, Blackburn, Avro, and Wright Seaplanes; eleven advertising flyers and pamphlets, all with great visual appeal, for such well-known companies as Farman, Martin, Sikorsky, and Bristol, as well as lesser-known entities such as the Florida Airways Corporation, the engine manufacturers Kemp and Ashmusen, and the Aerothrust Engine Company, which specialized in boat-mounted airplane propellers; eight advertisements excised from various periodicals, including an announcement for the Aero Club's First Annual Aeronautical Exhibition; and various other catalogs and academic papers on aeronautical topics. Sold with a group of Aero Club letters and documents, unchecked by us. Should be seen.