EARLY AEROPLANES 1907-18
ROY CROSS
HUGH EVELYN, London, 1962
A rare 1962 first edition of
Early Aeroplanes 1907-18 by the well-known British aviation artist Roy Cross. This is a very large format book, measuring 14 by 19 inches (380 x 480mm) illustrated with 12 full page color plates by the author. Many iconic WW1 aircraft types are included, alongside the very earliest aeroplanes like the Wright and the Bleriot. List of plates: (1) Wright Flyer (2) Blériot XI (3) Antoinette (4) Light Henri Farman (5) Gordon Bennett Deperdussin (6) Avro 504K (7) S.E.5 (8) Albatross D-V (9) Sopwith Camel (10) Spad S.13 (11) Fokker D-VIII (12) Handley Page 0/400. Beautifully produced in a limited edition, and lavishly illustrated, the book also includes brief descriptions of each aircraft.
Roy Cross (b. 1924), a British artist and aviation journalist, is best known as the painter of artwork used on Airfix kits from the 1960s. Born in Southwark, London, he studied at the Camberwell School of Art and worked as a technical illustrator for training manuals for Fairey Aviation during WW2. He progressed from there to producing advertising art for the aircraft industry, and illustrations for The Aeroplane magazine and The Eagle comic. The illustrations he produced for The Birth of the Royal Air Force in 1943 were his first commissioned book artwork. But it is for his work at Airfix that he is best known. Starting in 1964 with box art for Airfix's Dornier 217, his last work for them was the box art for the German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen (1974).
Condition:In good condition. The boards are in good condition, with some marks, general signs of wear, and some wear to the top and bottom of the spine. There is an index number near the spine. There is a small, decorative, ‘withdrawn' library bookplate on the front endpaper, and a small ink stamp on the rear endpaper. The binding and hinges are good and secure. The text and colour plates are in good condition.
Published: 1962
Illustrated with 12 full colour plates
Very Large format (Folio) white boards, with gilt and black titling
Dimensions: 380mm x 480mm
Pages: 54
