Air Power for Peace - Signed Copy from Air Marshall Lord Portal’s Private Collection

Language: English

Published by McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1945

  • First Edition
  • Signed
  • Hardcover
  • Used
See all details
Item image 1 of 8.

Seller: Arch Books, London, United KingdomArch Books

5-star seller

AbeBooks seller since January 18, 2023

Hardcover

Condition: Used - Very good

£ 350.00

£ 22.00 shipping 
Ships from United Kingdom to U.S.A.

Quantity: 1 available

Add to basket
Free 30-day returns

Item description from seller

WILSON, Eugene E. Air Power for Peace. New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1945. First edition, first impression. Octavo, publisher’s burgundy cloth, silver spine lettering and silver aircraft vignette to upper board, vii, 184 pp., diagrams. Signed by Eugene E. Wilson on the front free endpaper, “Washington, April 45.” From the private collection of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Portal of Hungerford. Light rubbing and minor wear to extremities, internally clean, a strong aviation association copy. Wilson was one of the significant American air-power advocates of the first half of the twentieth century: a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, naval engineer, First World War veteran, Bureau of Aeronautics officer, later aviation industrialist, and president of the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce of America. In Air Power for Peace, written as victory approached, he argued for aviation not merely as a weapon of war but as a framework for post-war security, commerce and national policy. Lord Portal was Wilson’s British counterpart at the highest strategic level: a decorated First World War flyer, commander of RAF Bomber Command in 1940, and Chief of the Air Staff from October 1940 through the end of the war. Portal helped shape the Allied strategic bombing offensive and became one of the central architects of British air strategy. The link between them is intellectual and historical rather than merely personal: Wilson wrote the American case for air power as the basis of peace, while Portal had just directed Britain’s air war at the highest level. A signed Washington copy, dated April 1945 and preserved in Portal’s library, is therefore a resonant transatlantic association - American aviation policy placed in the hands of Britain’s wartime RAF chief at the moment air power was being recast for the post-war world.…

Seller Inventory # ABE-1778083463582

Bibliographic details

Title
Air Power for Peace - Signed Copy from Air Marshall Lord Portal’s Private Collection
Author
Eugene E. Wilson
Publisher
McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London
Publication year
1945
Condition
Very good
Dust jacket
No Jacket
Signed
Signed by Author(s)
Binding
Hardcover
Language
English
Edition
1st Edition
Printing
1st Printing

Arch Books

London, United Kingdom

5-star seller

AbeBooks seller since January 18, 2023

Shipping rates from United Kingdom to U.S.A.

Item7 to 12 business days2 to 3 business days
First item£ 22.00£ 30.00
Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.

Payment methods

  • Visa
  • Mastercard
  • American Express
  • Apple Pay
  • Google Pay
  • Bank Wire Transfer
  • Cash

Store description

Arch Books is a specialist rare book business based in Richmond, London, dealing in first editions, fine bindings, travel and exploration books, illustrated books, military history, historical documents, and antique prints. We help private collectors, interior designers, gift buyers, and institutions source distinctive works on paper, with particular emphasis on condition, provenance, bibliographic accuracy, and presentation. Founded in 2020 by Guy Nathan, his own interest in collecting works on paper began in 2005, following a visit to the Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair with his grandmother, Pauline Willes, herself a passionate collector. That experience ignited a lifelong fascination with historical documents, art, scientific illustration, military ephemera and literature. For someone with a deep interest in history, collecting offered a particularly tangible way to understand the past - not simply through the events themselves, but through the objects, images and words by which they were recorded and experienced at the time. Whether a scientific drawing, a piece of military ephemera or a work of literature, each provides its own direct connection to a particular moment in history. The thrill of holding a first edition of Shackleton’s South, for instance, lies in that sense of immediacy: experiencing the book much as its first readers did in 1919, and encountering his extraordinary story through the same pages that introduced it to the world. Website: https://www.archbooks.co.uk Enquiries: guy@archbooks.co.uk Member of the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association (PBFA)…

Specialty

Fine Bindings, Antique Prints & Rare Books

Seller's business information

Arch Books

United Kingdom

Welcome to Arch Rare Books & Antique Prints
My own interest in collecting works on paper began in 2005. A visit to the Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair in 2005, with my grandmother, Pauline Willes, a passionate collector, was the experience that ignited my lifelong fascination with historical documents, art, scientific illustrations, military ephemera, and literature. My love of history made this a fantastic way to learn more about the history of events and how they were documented, whether through art, scientific drawings, military ephemera, or literature of the time. The thrill of holding a first edition of Shackleton's South, for instance, is the thrill of experiencing history firsthand, retracing the steps of those who first encountered his incredible story in 1919.

My family history has profoundly shaped my interests. From my great-grandfather, Vyse Millard, an infantry officer wounded at Ypres in 1915 who later earned a Distinguished Flying Cross with the Royal Flying Corps in North Africa, to my grandfather, Archie Nathan, who led the renowned costumiers L&H Nathans—suppliers to the Royal Family from the reign of Queen Victoria onwards, the Royal Households of Europe, and countless theatrical and film productions.

L&H Nathan's contributions extended beyond the stage. Following my grandfather's World War I service in North Africa, the company, under MI9's guidance, provided specialised clothing for SOE agents operating in occupied Europe during World War II. Some amazing historical keepsakes remain, including original letters from Charles Dickens, childhood drawings by Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) and Princess Margaret, and theatre programmes for plays held at Osborne House during the reign of Queen Victoria, which are still held by the wider family.

The historical items showcased on this site, many from my own collection, reflect a deep personal interest in the past.

It was this interest that led to the creation of Arch Rare Books and Antique Prints (Arch Books) in 2020.

Guy, February 2025

https://www.archbooks.co.uk/pages/about-us