La Passion de Roland Garros Volumes I and II
Paris: Les Éditions de France, 1926. Vol. I: Octavo, printed wrappers, 268 pp. (last leaf blank),
Vol II: Octavo, printed wrappers, 396 pp. (last leaf blank), Wrappers worn and slight torn at spine ends extreminites, some browning, otherwise a very good set. The covers of this two-volume set were designed by Maurice Busset. Roland Garros (1888-1918) was a an airplane pilot of the early 20th century. Enlisted in 1914, he shot down four German planes in a month before, in turn, being shot down and sent captive to Germany. Released in 1918, he immediately resumed combat. But the day before his thirtieth birthday, he was mortally wounded in aerial combat and disappeared. Moved by the disappearance of Roland Garros whom he considered a spiritual son, the novelist Jean Ajalbert wrote La Passion de Roland Garros, a biography celebrating the heroism of a young man. Item #2522
Price (AUD): $220.00