I’m in the middle of a light, rental refurbishment of my 1967 rental house when I am able bodied. And I’m tired of moving my stuff around for paint prep etc. Plus I’ve found that if I want to move ahead, it’s best for me to discard no longer wanted things. That I’ve squeezed the fun out of.

Now, I sort of doubt I’ll get close to the money I paid for any of these beautiful books, even the half of what I paid that I’m asking. Because as a bookish kind of peep myself, it’s clear books are largely unwanted, and not worth much, since the internet is presumed to have replaced text.

But OTOH (the gripping hand), things and styles and modes swing in and out of fashion. So if an antique aviation book mania sweeps collectors I want to be on the leading edge. Anyhow, hurry, hurry, step right up, you can’t see the merchandise from back there. My Craigslist post:

‘Selling Vintage Aviation Hardbound Magazine Collections‘

‘From 1965, I offer the complete, 14 volume, hardbound collection of Aircraft in Profile, the best writing on vintage, antique, and old military aircraft ever produced. British, of course, who do illustrated military history books so well.

‘In monograph form, each monthly soft-cover issue was dedicated to a single aircraft type, extensively covering the design, construction, performance, and operational history of each aircraft. Profusely illustrated with B&W photos, color plates, and cutaway drawings, the aviation artists were the best in the world.

The monthly monographs were gathered and published in 14 book-sized hardbound volumes, covering planes from the Wright and Curtis era all the way to the jets of 1965, both civil and military but emphasis on warplanes.

I gathered the entire collection, locally and online, and they vary in condition due to age, and varied book histories. But all are at least good, only one missing the jacket. Costing me $12-25 dollars each, I’m asking only $10 each to some budding aviation history scholar.

Another popular vintage UK quarterly periodical was Air Enthusiast, later named Air International, from mid 1970s through the Falklands war of 1982. This was a larger format magazine that were collected and, like Aircraft in Profile, republished in hardbound format. I bought the entire collection of 28 volumes from Ebay for $10 each.

‘More general purpose, Air Enthusiast featured sections devoted to military and commercial aircraft development and sales; profiles of foreign Air forces; the latest developments in civil & military technology; articles on theoretical aeronautical progress like jet engines, swing wings, and avionics.

‘Again British, again top quality photography, drawings, and artwork. Each book jacket featuring a color painting of a zoomy aircraft.

‘The articles in both collections are scholarly, expert, and extensively researched. The artists are the best of the day. The opposite of the inaccurate, distorted, AI hallucination infested histories you find online. Half price, for you my friend, $5 each. All 28 books in good – v good condition, all with jackets, $140. Trade for 420, bass guitar.

‘Finally, I’ve collected, I think, most everything written by the famed, decorated Royal Navy WWII test pilot Captain Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown. Who was one of the 1st pilots to shoot down a Nazi Fw-200 bomber over the Atlantic, in a Grumman Wildcat, long before the US entered the war.

‘And who test flew every significant aircraft of WWII: British, German, US, Italian, and Japanese. And who wrote about them both for Air Enthusiast, and in his own books here: Wings of the Navy, Wings of the Luftwaffe, Wings of the Weird and Wonderful, Wings of the Weird and Wonderful – Vol 2, and Wings On My Sleeve.

‘All are in varied, but good – v good condition. $25 for all. Included free if you buy Aircraft in Profile or Air Enthusiast. Cash only, you pick up in Roseville. Trade for bass guitar, 420.
Thanks.‘

‘Getting and spending we lay waste our powers;
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!’

William Wordsworth

Unless noted, all text and images by todgermanica.com.