Les avions allemands
Paris: Librairie Aéronautique, circa 1916. Octavo, original beige wrappers with blue lettering, 64 pp. (last blank), six large folding plates. Wrappers moderately dust-stained and a little chipped at extremities, internally fresh and unmarked, overall a pleasing uncut copy. Scarce and detailed technical handbook of two German fighter planes (Aviatik and Fokker), prepared for French aviators and mechanics during the First World War. Of special interest are the six perfectly preserved folding plates detailing Mercedes and Oberursel engines. Regarding the Aviatik and Fokker biplanes, Les avions allemands includes two large folding plans showing the front, side and top views, and also the biplane in three dimensional representation.
Auguste Masméjean was born in 1874 at La Cresse in Aveyron, and in 1893 joined the navy. He is listed as principal mechanic (Second class) at the Port of Cherbourg in 1906, and two years later commenced teaching the mechanical sciences as a Professor at Toulon. Expertise in naval engineering broadened in the coming years, and in 1911 he worked specifically on torpedo design and deployment. In late 1913, as First Class mechanic, he was awarded the prestigious Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur.
The demands of the First World War expanded the scope of his work into aviation, of which this book is a result. Masméjean also authored another technical handbook titled Les moteurs à explosion dans l'aviation during the war. Aged 49 years, Masméjean died in Paris late 1923. Noffsinger F224; not in Myron Smith. Item #1944
Price (AUD): $700.00