{"title":"Signed","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"seven-pillars-of-wisdom-by-t-e-lawrence-signed-by-field-marshall-claude-auckinleck","title":"Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E Lawrence Signed by Field Marshall Claude Auckinleck","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublished by Jonathan Cape, London. 1935\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBound in full red Morocco, with black and white onlay and blocked in gold.  Full gilt spine with black labels, gilt borders and board edges, hand sewn silk headbands, and hand marbled endpapers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA superb tactician, Lawrence became a master of guerilla war and unconventional methods – right down to wearing traditional Arab dress.\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #333333; background: white;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eLawrence was an anomaly – an amateur officer who eschewed British military traditions and discipline and who loathed its seemingly mindless adherence to rules, regulations and conventions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e“The origins of British special forces operations are often traced back to World War Two but in reality, we should trace them back further than that.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e“Both special forces operations and what Lord Mountbatten called ‘combined operations’ had their origins in the British operations of the Arab Revolt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eInstead of navigating the red tape and chain of command, Stirling snuck into the military headquarters in Cairo to meet directly with Commander-in-Chief General Sir Claude Auchinleck, where he encountered the deputy chief of staff, Major General Neil Ritchie. Ritchie proved to be the turning point in Stirling’s career. Impressed with Stirling’s innovation and daring, he persuaded Auchinleck to approve a new special operations unit, named ‘L Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade’ to deliberately mislead people into thinking it was a parachute brigade.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Arch Rare Books \u0026 Antique Prints","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46528045809931,"sku":"","price":2750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20240703_142322042_iOS.jpg?v=1738237255"},{"product_id":"the-oliviers-signed-by-lawrence-olivier-vivien-leigh","title":"The Oliviers, Signed by Lawrence Olivier \u0026 Vivien Leigh","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBy T.C. Worsley. London: Published by Hamish Hamilton, 1953.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst Edition. A remarkable presentation copy, flat-signed by both Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh on the front free endpaper, and inscribed by them to Archie Nathan, Managing Director of L\u0026amp;H Nathan, the renowned costumiers. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is the first published biography of the legendary acting couple. Illustrated with photographs. A truly special association copy connecting two titans of the theatre with their costumier. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-sourcepos=\"1:1-1:816\"\u003eSir Laurence Olivier, a name synonymous with theatrical greatness, was a towering figure of 20th-century stage and screen. His journey began remarkably early, with a stage debut at the tender age of nine, playing Brutus in a school production of \u003cem\u003eJulius Caesar\u003c\/em\u003e. This early experience ignited a passion that would burn brightly throughout his life, fueled by the unwavering support of his clergyman father, who saw and nurtured his son's extraordinary talent. Olivier, alongside his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, formed a triumvirate that dominated the British stage for decades, shaping the landscape of modern theatre. While he began appearing in British films in the 1930s, Hollywood success initially proved elusive, a testament to his perseverance and eventual triumph on the world stage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-sourcepos=\"3:1-3:790\"\u003eOlivier's mastery of Shakespearean roles cemented his status as a theatrical icon. His interpretations of Hamlet, Richard III, and Othello, among others, became benchmarks of performance. This prowess extended to the silver screen, where he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his masterful portrayal of Hamlet in the 1948 film adaptation, which he also directed. Beyond Shakespeare, Olivier demonstrated remarkable versatility, captivating audiences in a wide range of films, from the romantic drama of \u003cem\u003eWuthering Heights\u003c\/em\u003e and the suspense of \u003cem\u003eRebecca\u003c\/em\u003e to the epic scale of \u003cem\u003eSpartacus\u003c\/em\u003e and the thrilling twists of \u003cem\u003eSleuth\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eMarathon Man\u003c\/em\u003e. His ability to inhabit diverse characters, from classic literary figures to contemporary anti-heroes, showcased the breadth of his talent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-sourcepos=\"5:1-5:1029\"\u003eFrom 1963 to 1973, Olivier served as the founding director of Britain's National Theatre, a testament to his leadership and dedication to fostering theatrical excellence. This prestigious role solidified his influence on the development of British theatre and cemented his legacy as a national treasure. His personal life, particularly his passionate and complex relationship with Vivien Leigh, was often the subject of public fascination. Their marriage, marked by both intense love and the challenges of Leigh's mental health struggles, added another layer of intrigue to Olivier's already compelling story. Knighted in 1947 and later created a life peer in 1970, Olivier's contributions to the arts were recognized and celebrated by the nation. His acting style, characterized by its intensity, charisma, and remarkable adaptability, continues to inspire generations of performers. Sir Laurence Olivier's impact on theatre and film is immeasurable, solidifying his place as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Felix Barker","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46598157271307,"sku":null,"price":1500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20250211_084631156_iOS.jpg?v=1739279105"},{"product_id":"high-adventure-signed-first-edition-by-sir-edmund-hillary","title":"High Adventure: Signed by Sir Edmund Hillary","description":"\u003cp\u003eFine. first edition of Sir Edmund Hillary's \"High Adventure,\" recounting his historic ascent of Everest. Octavo, original blue cloth and with sought after dustjacket, featuring maps by A. Sparks and sketches by George Djurkouic. This copy is in exceptionally good condition, signed by the author in his earlier and preferred \"E.P. Hillary\" style on the front free endpaper.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay faced the formidable challenge of Everest, pushing beyond perceived limits to achieve the impossible. On May 29th, they stood triumphant at 29,028 feet, atop the world's highest peak. Hillary's compelling narrative, written with a straightforward yet evocative style, captures the raw bravery, frustration, agony, and ultimate glory of their journey.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the pivotal 1951 expedition that revealed the Southern Route, through the rigorous Himalayan training of 1952, to the successful 1953 expedition led by Colonel John Hunt, Hillary meticulously details the mountain's unforgiving nature. He vividly portrays the chaotic icefalls, treacherous snow ledges, and brutal weather shifts that tested the expedition's resolve.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDespite the immense challenges, Hillary's enthusiasm remains unwavering, fueled by a relentless drive to reach the summit. He humbly portrays himself and his team as hardworking individuals, not heroes, emphasizing the human spirit's innate desire to explore, understand, and conquer. A testament to courage and human endeavor, this signed first edition is a prized acquisition for any collector.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sir Edmund Hillary","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49675750048011,"sku":"","price":1200.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20250312_103855113_iOS.jpg?v=1741857900"},{"product_id":"the-ascent-of-everest-signed-by-sir-edmund-hillary","title":"The Ascent of Everest - Signed by Sir Edmund Hillary","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBy Sir John Hunt, \u003cspan class=\"opt-published-by\"\u003ePublished by\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"opt-publisher\"\u003eHodder \u0026amp; Houghton, London, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"opt-publish-date\"\u003e1953\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"opt-publish-date\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFine. First Edition, First Printing. Presenting a highly collectible first edition of \"The Ascent of Everest\" by Sir John Hunt, a pivotal account of the historic 1953 British conquest of Mount Everest. This exceptional copy is further enhanced by a bold signature from Sir Edmund Hillary himself, executed in his early and more formal \"E.P. Hillary\" style.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe book itself is a treasure, featuring stunning colour and half-tone photographic plates, plus in-text sketches. It includes a foreword by H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh, signed in facsimile. Notably, Chapter 16 is Sir Edmund Hillary's own account of the final ascent, providing a firsthand perspective on this monumental achievement. Additionally, appendices feature contributions from other members of the expedition.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis first edition is a testament to the courage and stamina of the 1953 Everest team, culminating in the historic moment when Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit on May 29th, 1953. The 'E.P. Hillary' signature adds significant value and historical interest, indicating a signature from early in his career. This is a near fine first edition in a near fine dust jacket.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"opt-publish-date\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Arch Rare Books \u0026 Antique Prints","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49676236292363,"sku":"","price":1200.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20250312_104234096_iOS.jpg?v=1741860364"},{"product_id":"products-a-geographical-historie-of-africa-1600-james-grey-jacksons-personal-working-copy-leo-africanus","title":"Leo Africanus - A Geographical Historie of Africa, 1600 - First English Edition - James Grey Jackson's Personal Working Copy","description":"\u003ch3 data-section-id=\"18mb22d\" data-start=\"2888\" data-end=\"3025\"\u003e\u003cspan role=\"text\"\u003eLEO AFRICANUS. \u003cem data-start=\"2906\" data-end=\"2942\"\u003eA Geographical Historie of Africa.\u003c\/em\u003e First English Edition, 1600. James Grey Jackson's Verified Annotated Working Copy.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3027\" data-end=\"3309\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"3027\" data-end=\"3097\"\u003eLEO AFRICANUS, Johannes [al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan al-Fasi].\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem data-start=\"3098\" data-end=\"3232\"\u003eA Geographical Historie of Africa, Written in Arabicke and Italian by Iohn Leo a More, borne in Granada, and brought up in Barbarie.\u003c\/em\u003e Translated and collected by John Pory. London: Impensis Georg. Bishop, 1600. First edition in English. STC 15481; ESTC S108481.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3027\" data-end=\"3309\"\u003eA remarkable copy of one of the foundational English-language books on Africa: the first English edition of Leo Africanus' celebrated account, owned, studied and annotated by James Grey Jackson, author of \u003cem data-start=\"4157\" data-end=\"4220\"\u003eAn Account of the Empire of Marocco, and the District of Suse\u003c\/em\u003e (1809). This is a volume in which the subject matter and the provenance are exceptionally closely aligned, connecting two important writers on Morocco, Timbuktu and the geography of Africa across more than two centuries.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3027\" data-end=\"3309\"\u003eFolio. Contemporary calf boards, dating from around the time of publication, sympathetically rebacked with the spine gilt in compartments and with red morocco lettering-piece. The original printed title page is lacking and has been replaced with a carefully written manuscript title page. No folding map is present in this copy; the map does not appear to have been issued with all examples of the edition and is not invariably found in surviving copies. With the struck-through ownership inscription and extensive manuscript annotations of James Grey Jackson, including a substantial Arabic passage independently verified as being in his hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4443\" data-end=\"4889\"\u003eBorn al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan al-Fasi, Leo Africanus was raised in Fez and travelled extensively through North Africa and territories further south. His account, first printed in Italian in Ramusio's collection of voyages in 1550, offered European readers one of the earliest substantial descriptions of Morocco, the Maghreb, Timbuktu and the wider African interior by a writer formed within the Islamic and African world he described.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4891\" data-end=\"5683\"\u003eThis English translation by John Pory, published in London by George Bishop in 1600, was a landmark in the dissemination of knowledge about Africa in England. Pory added introductory geographical material and dedicated the work to Sir Robert Cecil. The book remained an important source for European readers and later travellers for centuries. The edition is credited by the OED with early English uses of the words \"hippopotamus\" and \"zebra\"; Ben Jonson referred expressly to \"Leo the African\" in his notes to \u003cem data-start=\"5406\" data-end=\"5431\"\u003eThe Masque of Blackness\u003c\/em\u003e, while its possible relationship to Shakespeare's \u003cem data-start=\"5482\" data-end=\"5491\"\u003eOthello\u003c\/em\u003e has long attracted scholarly attention. Maggs similarly describes Pory's translation as a major landmark in the spread of knowledge of Africa in England. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5685\" data-end=\"6154\"\u003eThe particular importance of this copy lies in its independently verified provenance. It was the personal working copy of James Grey Jackson, the British merchant, traveller and writer whose years in Morocco led to the publication of his influential \u003cem data-start=\"5939\" data-end=\"5973\"\u003eAccount of the Empire of Marocco\u003c\/em\u003e. Jackson's struck-through ownership inscription survives within the volume, together with extensive manuscript material demonstrating sustained engagement with Leo Africanus' text.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"6156\" data-end=\"6330\"\u003eOf exceptional interest is the lengthy Arabic annotation written by Jackson before the index, independently verified as being in his hand. The passage has been translated as:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote data-start=\"6332\" data-end=\"6577\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"6334\" data-end=\"6577\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Then I entered the city of Tamkhazi and the country of Tamhazi is in the country of Cathay. Travellers claim that the wall surrounding their country and their lands and the rest of their buildings takes 23 days to traverse from west to east.\"\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"6579\" data-end=\"7130\"\u003eThe passage appears to derive from the medieval Arabic geographical tradition associated with Ibn Sa'id al-Maghribi and the work now known as the \u003cem data-start=\"6729\" data-end=\"6750\"\u003eKitab al-Jughrafiya\u003c\/em\u003e. The city rendered here as \"Tamkhazi\" is encountered elsewhere in Arabic geographical writing as Tamghach, associated with Central Asia or China. The linguistic irregularities in Jackson's Arabic add to the documentary interest of the inscription, preserving the active scholarly work of a learned non-native reader engaging directly with Arabic geographical source material.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"7132\" data-end=\"7560\"\u003eThe volume retains its contemporary calf boards, dating from around the time of publication, and has been sympathetically rebacked. It shows rubbing, wear and signs of use appropriate to a book that was consulted as a working reference. The original printed title page is lacking and replaced in manuscript. No folding map is present in this copy; the map does not appear to have accompanied all copies of the edition and is not invariably encountered in surviving examples.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"7562\" data-end=\"7847\"\u003eAn exceptionally significant copy of the first English edition of Leo Africanus, transformed by the verified ownership and Arabic annotations of James Grey Jackson into an important document of British engagement with Morocco, Arabic scholarship and the historical geography of Africa.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Leo Africanus","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49676724764939,"sku":"","price":9000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20250312_104840046_iOS_a5aecfbb-dafc-4486-93a7-51a9ac92401d.jpg?v=1779779317"},{"product_id":"cetywayo-his-white-neighbours-by-h-rider-haggard-with-authors-letter-to-lord-avebury","title":"Cetywayo \u0026 His White Neighbours by H. Rider Haggard with Author's Letter to Lord Avebury","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublished by Trübner, 1882\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst Edition, First Impression. One of only 750 copies printed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is a remarkably well-preserved first edition of H. Rider Haggard's \"Cetywayo and His White Neighbours; or, Recent Events in Zululand, Natal, and the Transvaal,\" published by Trübner \u0026amp; Co. in 1882. This is one of only 750 copies printed, a venture for which Haggard himself paid £50, largely funded by his father. The book is presented in its original green cloth, retaining its unrestored condition.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAccompanying this rare edition is an original letter from H. Rider Haggard to Sir John Lubbock, Lord Avebury, dated 28th May 1903. The letter, penned from Haggard’s residence at 27 Norfolk Square, Hyde Park, London, W., expresses gratitude for a pleasant breakfast. Haggard writes, \"I trust you won't think me a great bore for trying to propagate my views. The question is really important,\" presumably highlighting the book's critical commentary on the colonial situation in South Africa. Sir John Lubbock, Lord Avebury (1834-1913), was a prominent polymath: a banker, politician, scientist, and writer. He was particularly well-known for his contributions to archaeology and his advocacy for public holidays. His wide-ranging interests and influence made him a significant figure in Victorian society, and Haggard clearly valued his opinion.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCetywayo and His White Neighbours\" is Haggard's first book, a critical analysis of the complex political dynamics in South Africa during a pivotal period. Haggard's personal experiences in the region, initially sent there by his father to escape an ill-fated romance, provided the foundation for this work. Despite his initial successes in South Africa, the heartbreak of his failed romance led him to a period of instability, including a foray into ostrich farming, before his return to England in 1879. Upon his return he quickly married Louisa Margitson, and after a further spell in South Africa, he returned to England with new responsibilities. With his marriage and growing family, Haggard sought stability, leading him to pursue a career at the bar and to embark on his literary journey with this publication.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDespite its importance as a historical document and Haggard's first published work, \"Cetywayo and His White Neighbours\" initially met with limited success. Trübner \u0026amp; Co. agreed to publish the 750-copy edition, with the financial risk largely borne by Haggard's father. Haggard later lamented the book's \"total failure\" at the time, with only 154 copies sold nearly two years after its release. It was only after the phenomenal success of \"King Solomon's Mines\" in 1885 that public interest in his earlier work was rekindled, leading to the eventual sale of the remaining copies and subsequent editions. This presentation copy, with its accompanying letter, offers a unique glimpse into the early career of one of Victorian England's most celebrated authors and provides valuable context for understanding his later literary achievements.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"H. Rider Haggard","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51100870279435,"sku":"","price":1500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20250318_083911462_iOS.jpg?v=1742315987"},{"product_id":"the-poems-of-ossian-translated-by-james-macpherson-ex-libris-john-ruskin-michael-dibdin","title":"The Poems of Ossian Translated by James Macpherson - Ex Libris John Ruskin \u0026 Michael Dibdin","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher: Edinburgh: Oliver \u0026amp; Boyd; 1819\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA fascinating edition of James Macpherson's influential \"Poems of Ossian,\" which sparked a major literary debate regarding their authenticity. This volume, published by Oliver \u0026amp; Boyd in Edinburgh around 1819, includes the translated poems alongside the critical commentary of Malcolm Laing, a Scottish historian and politician who famously argued that Macpherson's work was largely of modern composition. Laing's significant essay, first appearing in his \"History of Scotland\" (1800), is included here, offering a sustained and critical analysis of the Ossianic cycle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis particular copy boasts remarkable provenance, having once belonged to two distinguished figures in the literary world:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEx Libris John Ruskin:\u003c\/strong\u003e Featuring the bookplate of the eminent Victorian art critic, writer, and social reformer, John Ruskin (1819-1900). Ruskin was a highly influential figure, known for his profound insights on art, architecture, society, and the natural world. His ownership adds a significant layer of historical and intellectual interest to this volume.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom the Collection of Michael Dibdin:\u003c\/strong\u003e More recently acquired directly from the collection of the acclaimed British crime fiction writer, Michael Dibdin (1947-2007), best known for his Aurelio Zen detective series. The front free endpaper bears an inscription in ink by Dibdin, further enhancing its provenance and appeal to collectors.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe book is a compact volume, measuring approximately 13cm x 4cm.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis edition offers a unique opportunity to own a copy of a historically significant work, deeply entwined with literary controversy and bearing the distinguished ownership marks of John Ruskin and Michael Dibdin. A compelling addition to any collection of Scottish literature, 18th\/19th-century literary history, or books with notable provenance.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Arch Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51340978258187,"sku":"","price":450.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20250501_141740334_iOS.jpg?v=1746116133"},{"product_id":"narrative-of-a-years-journey-through-central-and-eastern-arabia-1862-63-william-gifford-palgrave-2-volumes-leather-bound-with-folding-maps-autograph-letter-signed","title":"Narrative of a Year's Journey through Central and Eastern Arabia (1862-63) - William Gifford Palgrave, 2 Volumes, Leather-Bound with Folding Maps \u0026 Autograph Letter Signed","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLondon and Cambridge: Macmillan and Co, 1865\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eHalf calf binding with sprinkled leather and a nonpareil marble to side side. Spine fully gilt with 5 raised bands and red and green labels, beautiful geometric reback. Volume I features a striking portrait frontispiece and two folding maps and plans. Volume II includes two additional folding plans and maps. This is the scarce first edition, complete in two volumes, of William Gifford Palgrave's monumental \"Narrative of a Year's Journey through Central and Eastern Arabia (1862-63).\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis set is not only a cornerstone of Arabian travel literature but is made even more special by the inclusion of a handwritten letter signed by W. Gifford Palgrave himself. This single piece of folded paper, approximately 4 3\/8\" wide by 7 1\/8\", features writing on its first two sides. Dated August 14, 1876, from Gr. Yarmouth on letterhead adorned with the Palgrave crest, the letter discusses arranging a meeting and mentions mutual friends, offering a personal connection to this extraordinary figure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePalgrave's \"Narrative\" is an enormously informative and compelling account of his daring journey across the Arabian Peninsula. Disguised as a Syrian Christian doctor and merchant, Palgrave, a Jesuit missionary and priest, gained unprecedented access to regions largely closed to Christian Europeans due to the prevailing political and religious sensitivities of the time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWithin these pages, Palgrave offers an unparalleled chronicle of his travels, providing detailed ethnographic observations and invaluable insights into the geography, tribal politics, local customs, and religious practices of the Arabian Peninsula in the mid-19th century. His undertaking was a feat of courage and intellectual curiosity, resulting in a work that remains a vital resource for understanding the history and culture of the region.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePalgrave's Narrative was instrumental in that it opened up a previously obscure part of the world to detailed European scrutiny. It provided crucial, albeit biased, intelligence on the internal political and social landscape of Central and Eastern Arabia during a critical period. This knowledge, gathered by European powers, was a piece of the puzzle that contributed to their understanding of the region, which would later factor into the geopolitical considerations surrounding the eventual formation of modern states, including Saudi Arabia, as the Ottoman Empire waned and new power vacuums emerged. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"William Gifford Palgrave","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51535476556043,"sku":"","price":2500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20250604_063012253_iOS.jpg?v=1749027842"},{"product_id":"captains-courageous-the-story-of-the-grand-banks-a-novel-with-illustrations-by-i-w-taber-by-rudyard-kipling","title":"Captains Courageous. The Story of the Grand Banks. A Novel. With Illustrations by I.W. Taber. By Rudyard Kipling","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLondon: Macmillan \u0026amp; Co. Ltd., 1897. First UK Edition, First Impression\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDescription:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA striking first UK edition of Rudyard Kipling’s beloved maritime adventure, issued just one month after the American edition. This hardback volume measures approximately 12 x 19 cm and features charming illustrations by I.W. Taber that bring Kipling’s vivid story of the Grand Banks and seafaring life to life, there is some foxing primarily confined to the page edges and preliminary leaves, consistent with age.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProvenance:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis copy carries the signature of Lieutenant General Frank Noel Mason-MacFarlane, a distinguished British Army officer whose childhood connection to this classic novel adds an intriguing layer of historical interest. Mason-MacFarlane (1884–1968) had a notable military career, serving through both World Wars and later becoming a key figure in military intelligence and diplomacy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile there is no direct record of Kipling and Mason-MacFarlane’s paths crossing, Kipling’s works were formative reading for many young British officers of the era. Captains Courageous, with its themes of resilience, courage, and the forging of character through hardship at sea, would have resonated deeply with Mason-MacFarlane’s own experiences of leadership and endurance. This provenance enriches the book’s legacy, linking the timeless narrative to a real-life exemplar of the very virtues Kipling celebrated.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rudyard Kipling","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51842148991243,"sku":null,"price":500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20250701_051151929_iOS.jpg?v=1751353566"},{"product_id":"scott-s-last-expedition-first-edition-1913-with-admiral-edward-evans-autograph-a-direct-link-to-the-terra-nova","title":"Scott’s Last Expedition – First Edition (1913), with Admiral Edward Evans Autograph – A Direct Link to the Terra Nova","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLondon: Smith, Elder \u0026amp; Co., 1913. First Edition, two volumes in original cloth.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePublished in 1913, Scott’s Last Expedition stands as one of the greatest works of exploration literature - the journals and scientific records brought back from the fateful Terra Nova voyage, and the last words of Captain Robert Falcon Scott himself. When news reached Britain that Scott and his companions had perished within sight of their supply depot, the nation mourned, and this two–volume set became the monument to their courage, sacrifice, and tragedy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVolume I contains Scott’s own journals, ending with his now–immortal words, “for God’s sake look after our people.” Volume II offers the scientific reports, the hard–won fruit of years spent in the world’s harshest climate - geology, zoology, and studies from Dr. Edward Wilson and the other survivors. Together, they form not only a memorial to Scott but also a triumph of discovery, capturing both the human drama and the scientific purpose of the expedition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis set is made all the more evocative by the inclusion of an autograph card signed by Admiral Edward Evans, second–in–command of the expedition and captain of the Terra Nova. Evans - later Admiral Lord Mountevans - marched with Scott toward the Pole until stricken by scurvy. Near death, he was dragged back to base by his men, his survival a narrow escape. It was Evans who later commanded the ship home, carried the news of Scott’s fate to the world, and remained one of the expedition’s most vocal chroniclers. His signature alongside these volumes provides a tangible and deeply personal link to the inner circle of Scott’s party.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBound in the original publisher’s navy cloth, gilt–lettered, with photogravure frontispieces, panoramas, folding maps, and plates after Herbert Ponting’s haunting photographs. The set shows the usual darkening to the spines and some scattered foxing, but the contents are generally clean, the plates sharp and vivid. Evans’ signed compliments card is loose, well preserved, and presented with the books.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Robert Falcon Scott","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52117062517003,"sku":null,"price":600.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20250823_140924959_iOS.jpg?v=1756047810"},{"product_id":"rubaiyat-of-omar-khayyam-illustrated-by-rene-bull-signed-limited-edition-no-216-of-250-copies","title":"Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám – Illustrated by René Bull – Signed Limited Edition (No. 216 of 250 Copies)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLondon: Hodder \u0026amp; Stoughton, [1913]. Large quarto. Full publisher’s vellum\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRichly blocked in gilt and blue to a design by René Bull, with gilt titles to the spine and upper cover. Top edge gilt, others untrimmed. Printed by Henry Stone \u0026amp; Son, Banbury. Limited to 250 copies signed and numbered by the artist, this being No. 216.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEdward FitzGerald’s celebrated rendering of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám found one of its most lavish incarnations in this edition illustrated by René Bull, a work that represents the last flowering of the Edwardian gift book tradition. Bull’s images fuse Persian, Byzantine, and Art Nouveau elements in an opulent interpretation of Khayyám’s meditations on love, transience, and the passing of earthly pleasure. His ten mounted colour plates are framed by ornamental borders printed in gold and accompanied by nineteen line drawings, each with a tissue guard bearing one of FitzGerald’s quatrains.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBull, an Anglo-Irish illustrator trained in Paris, was known for his flair for theatrical colour and architectural detail. In this edition, he achieves a visual synthesis between the spiritual mysticism of Persian poetry and the ornamental decadence of early twentieth-century illustration. The result is a book that stands as both a monument to the Golden Age of British book illustration and a reflection of Europe’s fascination with the East at the fin de siècle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe vellum binding remains bright and finely preserved, the gilt sharp and luminous, the blue inlay unfaded. Internally there is light spotting to the endpapers and a few preliminary leaves, as is usual with this edition, but the plates are clean and fresh, retaining their original brilliance. A handsome and complete copy of this signed limited issue.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePrinted by Henry Stone \u0026amp; Son of Banbury, this edition was produced in a small run of 250 numbered copies for Hodder \u0026amp; Stoughton, each signed by René Bull on the limitation leaf. Few copies survive in such condition, the vellum often having dulled or warped.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn exceptional example of one of the most beautiful illustrated books of the Edwardian era, uniting FitzGerald’s enduring verse with René Bull’s sumptuous vision.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"René Bull","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52492189499659,"sku":null,"price":1000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20251021_073150461_iOS.jpg?v=1761064644"},{"product_id":"roald-amundsen-s-signed-expedition-carried-copy-of-nansen-s-fram-over-polhavet-1897","title":"Roald Amundsen’s Signed, Expedition-Carried Copy of Nansen’s Fram over Polhavet (1897)","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"268\" data-end=\"470\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"268\" data-end=\"289\"\u003eNANSEN, Fridtjof.\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem data-start=\"290\" data-end=\"343\"\u003eFram over Polhavet. Den Norske Polarfærd 1893–1896.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"343\" data-end=\"346\"\u003eKristiania: H. Aschehoug \u0026amp; Co., 1897.\u003cbr data-start=\"383\" data-end=\"386\"\u003eTwo volumes, 8vo. First edition in Norwegian. Original publisher’s green gilt cloth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"472\" data-end=\"627\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"472\" data-end=\"557\"\u003eRoald Amundsen’s personal, signed, and expedition-carried copy, with both volumes signed and inscribed by him:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"557\" data-end=\"560\"\u003e“Medfulgt på alle mine reiser” - \u003cem data-start=\"593\" data-end=\"627\"\u003e“Accompanied on all my travels.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"629\" data-end=\"1137\"\u003eFridtjof Nansen was \u003cem\u003ethe\u003c\/em\u003e central figure of nineteenth-century polar exploration: the first man to cross the Greenland ice cap, the architect of the \u003cem data-start=\"776\" data-end=\"782\"\u003eFram\u003c\/em\u003e expedition of 1893–1896, and the originator of the drifting-ice strategy that carried exploration closer to the North Pole than ever before. \u003cem data-start=\"924\" data-end=\"944\"\u003eFram over Polhavet\u003c\/em\u003e is the foundational text of modern polar travel, recording not only the narrative of the expedition but the methods, discipline, and scientific philosophy that reshaped exploration thereafter. The work was published in English shortly thereafter as Farthest North, the title under which it became internationally known.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1139\" data-end=\"1542\"\u003eRoald Amundsen built his own achievements directly upon Nansen’s work. He adopted Nansen’s techniques, planning, and polar systems, and ultimately sailed Nansen’s ship \u003cem data-start=\"1307\" data-end=\"1313\"\u003eFram\u003c\/em\u003e itself — first with the intention of a North Pole expedition, and later, famously, to Antarctica. This set represents the direct intellectual and practical inheritance between the two greatest figures in Norwegian polar history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1544\" data-end=\"2339\"\u003eThis is Amundsen’s own working copy, signed and inscribed by him with the extraordinary declaration that it “accompanied [him] on all [his] travels.” Among the very few books Amundsen chose to carry repeatedly, this set travelled with him on his major expeditions, including the Northwest Passage voyage in \u003cem data-start=\"1851\" data-end=\"1857\"\u003eGjøa\u003c\/em\u003e and the expedition that culminated in his attainment of the South Pole. The present state of the volumes - including structural wear, loosened hinges, and stressed bindings - is wholly consistent with repeated packing, handling, and consultation under expedition conditions, and provides compelling physical corroboration of Amundsen’s inscription. Few books in the history of exploration can claim such sustained and intimate association with the achievements they helped inspire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2341\" data-end=\"2761\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"2341\" data-end=\"2356\"\u003eProvenance:\u003c\/strong\u003e Roald Amundsen (1872–1928), signed and inscribed by him; thereafter retained within the Amundsen family; Christie’s, Polar Exploration \u0026amp; Travel sale, 27 September 2006; subsequently held in the Odfjell Collection, one of the most important Norwegian polar libraries of the modern era. The provenance is complete, uninterrupted, and entirely consistent with the historical importance of the object itself.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nansen, Fridtjof","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52848683417867,"sku":null,"price":24500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260113_123819220_iOS.jpg?v=1769522219"},{"product_id":"u-s-foreign-policy-shield-of-the-republic-walter-lippmann-presentation-copy-to-air-chief-marshal-lord-portal","title":"U. S. Foreign Policy: Shield of the Republic - Walter Lippmann - Presentation Copy to Air Chief Marshal Lord Portal","description":"\u003cp\u003eLIPPMANN, Walter. U. S. Foreign Policy: Shield of the Republic. Boston: Little, Brown and Company \/ Atlantic Monthly Press, 1943.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst edition, published June 1943. Inscribed by Walter Lippmann on the front free endpaper: “Sir Charles Portal with best regards Walter Lippmann, Washington, May 18, 1943.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA remarkable wartime association copy, presented by one of the defining American public intellectuals of the twentieth century to one of Britain’s most important wartime commanders. Lippmann was not merely a journalist, but a political thinker of international consequence: a founding editor of The New Republic, the long-serving author of the syndicated column “Today and Tomorrow,” a confidant of presidents, and one of the writers whose ideas helped shape the language of modern political debate. His work on public opinion, democracy, policy, and international order gave him unusual influence in American political life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe recipient, Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, later Lord Portal of Hungerford, was Chief of the Air Staff and one of Churchill’s principal military advisers. He stood at the centre of Allied air strategy, the bomber offensive, RAF expansion, and the developing Anglo-American military partnership. In May 1943, when this copy was inscribed in Washington, questions of American power, post-war settlement, Atlantic security, and the direction of Allied strategy were immediate matters of war.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe association is therefore unusually strong. U. S. Foreign Policy: Shield of the Republic was Lippmann’s argument for a realistic American foreign policy suited to a new global role. Portal was one of the men helping to determine how that power would be applied in practice. This copy links the intellectual framing of American policy with the operational command of the Allied air war.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOriginal blue cloth with gilt spine titles. Very good condition, binding firm, cloth clean with light rubbing to extremities and slight wear at spine ends. Contents clean and lightly toned, with the inscription clear and well preserved.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Walter Lippmann","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53073293869323,"sku":null,"price":2000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260512_072054701_iOS_f89f1339-dee8-4549-abfd-690e39ac2cdf.jpg?v=1778576856"},{"product_id":"r-a-f-occasions-by-h-g-first-edition-inscribed-to-air-chief-marshal-sir-charles-portal","title":"R.A.F. Occasions by Hubert Griffith - First Edition Presentation Copy to Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, with Portal’s Own Wartime Annotations","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"258\" data-end=\"330\"\u003eGRIFFITH, Hubert. \u003cstrong data-start=\"276\" data-end=\"297\"\u003eR.A.F. Occasions.\u003c\/strong\u003e London: The Cresset Press, 1941.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"332\" data-end=\"673\"\u003eFirst edition, first impression. Original cream cloth, lettered in red to the spine. A distinguished wartime association copy, inscribed on the front free endpaper: \u003cstrong data-start=\"497\" data-end=\"600\"\u003e“To Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, with respect, from a former member of an R.E.8 Squadron…”\u003c\/strong\u003e signed by the author and dated \u003cstrong data-start=\"632\" data-end=\"672\"\u003eR.A.F. Station, Blackpool, June 1941\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"675\" data-end=\"1060\"\u003eFrom the personal collection of Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, later Lord Portal of Hungerford, wartime Chief of the Air Staff and one of the most important British military figures of the Second World War. Portal directed the RAF through the critical middle years of the conflict, shaping bomber strategy, air defence, operational expansion, and Anglo-American air cooperation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1062\" data-end=\"1278\"\u003eOf particular interest, this copy includes notes made by Portal in the text, apparently relating to his own service and experience, giving the volume a direct personal association beyond the presentation inscription.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1280\" data-end=\"1432\"\u003eThe contents cover squadron life, Cambrai, Coastal Command, the B.E.F. in France, evacuation, recruiting, bomber crews, and the philosophy of air crews.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1434\" data-end=\"1638\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eVery good condition. Binding firm, cloth lightly toned and marked, spine slightly darkened, with small spots and minor rubbing. Internally clean and sound, with inscription and annotations well preserved.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"GRIFFITH, Hubert","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53073295474955,"sku":null,"price":500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260512_072225172_iOS.jpg?v=1778578743"},{"product_id":"one-marine-s-tale-leslie-hollis-first-edition-presentation-copy-to-air-chief-marshal-portal","title":"One Marine’s Tale - Leslie Hollis - First Edition Presentation Copy to Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal","description":"\u003cp\u003eHOLLIS, Leslie. One Marine’s Tale. London: Andre Deutsch, 1956.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst edition, first impression. Original blue cloth in the publisher’s dust jacket, priced 15s net. With a foreword by General Lord Ismay. A highly significant presentation copy, inscribed by Hollis on the front free endpaper: “With the author’s regards, To Hollis, June 1956.” From the personal collection of Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, later Lord Portal of Hungerford, wartime Chief of the Air Staff.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHollis was far more than a military memoirist. As staff officer to Winston Churchill, he served at the heart of Britain’s wartime command structure, acting as a vital liaison between the Prime Minister and the Chiefs of Staff. He accompanied Churchill to major foreign conferences and was closely involved in the machinery of high command. Before the war, from 1936, Hollis helped establish Britain’s Central Defence Organisation and was one of the architects of the Cabinet War Rooms.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe association with Portal is especially strong. Portal, as Chief of the Air Staff, was one of Churchill’s most important military advisers and a central figure in Allied air strategy, Bomber Command policy, RAF expansion, and Anglo-American coordination. Hollis and Portal belonged to the small circle of men through whom Churchill’s strategic direction was translated into military action. A presentation copy from Hollis, preserved in Portal’s library, is therefore a direct link between two figures embedded in the highest operational and political levels of the British war effort.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe memoir ranges from Hollis’s First World War service as a Royal Marine to his Second World War role beside Churchill, with valuable recollections of Churchill’s working habits, conferences, and command style.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVery good condition. Jacket with rubbing, toning, and a chip to the upper front panel; book firm and clean, with inscription clearly preserved.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Leslie Hollis","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53073346003211,"sku":null,"price":1000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260424_142640925_iOS.jpg?v=1777106439"},{"product_id":"sixty-years-of-power-earl-of-swinton-air-chief-marshal-lord-portal-association-copy","title":"Sixty Years of Power - Earl of Swinton - Air Chief Marshal Lord Portal Association Copy","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"151\"\u003eSWINTON, The Earl of, in collaboration with James Margach. \u003cstrong data-start=\"59\" data-end=\"125\"\u003eSixty Years of Power: Some Memories of the Men Who Wielded It.\u003c\/strong\u003e London: Hutchinson, 1966.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"153\" data-end=\"514\"\u003eFirst edition, first impression. Original red cloth with gilt spine lettering on a black title panel, in the publisher’s dust jacket, priced 35s net. From the personal collection of \u003cstrong data-start=\"335\" data-end=\"368\"\u003eAir Chief Marshal Lord Portal\u003c\/strong\u003e, with his ownership inscription \u003cstrong data-start=\"401\" data-end=\"427\"\u003e“Portal of Hungerford”\u003c\/strong\u003e to the front free endpaper, and with the West Ashling House, Chichester stamp beneath.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"516\" data-end=\"974\"\u003eA compelling association copy. Swinton, formerly Philip Cunliffe-Lister, was Secretary of State for Air from 1935 to 1938, during the vital pre-war period of RAF expansion and rearmament. Portal, later Chief of the Air Staff, became one of the central architects of British air strategy during the Second World War. Their careers meet at one of the most important points in modern British history: the political creation of air power and its wartime command.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"976\" data-end=\"1615\"\u003eThe book itself surveys many of the statesmen who shaped Britain across six decades, including Baldwin, Chamberlain, Churchill, Attlee, Macmillan and Douglas-Home. Portal knew many of these figures not as distant political names, but as colleagues, ministers and strategic decision-makers. Swinton’s memoir is concerned with the exercise of power at cabinet level, while Portal’s career embodied the military application of that power in wartime. This copy therefore links three layers of authority: Swinton the political insider, Portal the wartime air commander, and the prime ministers whose decisions formed the world they both served.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1617\" data-end=\"1795\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eVery good condition. Binding firm and clean, with light handling only. Dust jacket very good, lightly toned and rubbed, with small chips and short closed tears to the upper edge.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Earl of Swinton","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53073747968267,"sku":null,"price":300.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260424_143604387_iOS.jpg?v=1777129724"},{"product_id":"no-7-squadron-r-f-c-peter-wilson-air-chief-marshal-lord-portal-association-copy","title":"No. 7 Squadron R.F.C. - Peter Wilson - Air Chief Marshal Lord Portal Association Copy","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"149\" data-end=\"293\"\u003eWILSON, Peter. \u003cstrong data-start=\"164\" data-end=\"210\"\u003eNo. 7 Squadron R.F.C.: The Diary of A.G.W.\u003c\/strong\u003e Aylesbury: Hunt, Barnard \u0026amp; Co., privately printed, n.d. [c. post-First World War].\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"295\" data-end=\"693\"\u003eFirst edition, first impression. A privately printed account of No. 7 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, in original blue cloth, lettered in dark blue to the upper board. Illustrated with a group photograph of the officers of No. 7 Squadron R.F.C., dated May 1918. From the personal collection of \u003cstrong data-start=\"587\" data-end=\"620\"\u003eAir Chief Marshal Lord Portal\u003c\/strong\u003e, with his ownership inscription \u003cstrong data-start=\"653\" data-end=\"665\"\u003e“Portal”\u003c\/strong\u003e to the front free endpaper.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"695\" data-end=\"1103\"\u003eA highly evocative association copy. The diary was written by \u003cstrong data-start=\"757\" data-end=\"773\"\u003ePeter Wilson\u003c\/strong\u003e, whose personal record forms the basis of the volume. It captures the daily texture of an RFC corps squadron at war: artillery observation, counter-battery work, reconnaissance, contact patrols, wireless telephony, bombing duties, and the mixture of danger, routine, humour and improvisation that defined early military aviation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1105\" data-end=\"1471\"\u003eThe Portal association is especially resonant. Portal’s own military career began in the First World War, first in the Royal Engineers and then in the Royal Flying Corps, where he became a pilot and flight commander. Those early experiences shaped the whole course of his later life, culminating in his position as Chief of the Air Staff during the Second World War.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1473\" data-end=\"1958\"\u003eThis privately printed squadron record would have spoken directly to Portal’s memories of early air warfare. It belongs to the same formative world from which Portal emerged: fragile machines, artillery cooperation, observation flights, improvised tactics, and the gradual creation of air power as a serious arm of war. In Portal’s library, Wilson’s diary becomes more than a scarce squadron history. It is a personal bridge between the RFC of 1918 and the RAF high command of 1939-45.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1960\" data-end=\"2135\"\u003eGood condition. Cloth rubbed and marked, spine dulled, corners worn. Inner hinges tender with some exposed binding and age-toning to endpapers, but complete and sound overall.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Peter Wilson","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53073751179531,"sku":null,"price":750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260424_144019752_iOS.jpg?v=1777130732"},{"product_id":"the-royal-kalendar-and-rider-s-british-merlin-for-1803-wellesley-nelson-cornwallis","title":"The Royal Kalendar and Rider’s British Merlin for 1803 - Wellesley, Nelson, Cornwallis","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"92\" data-end=\"434\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"92\" data-end=\"111\"\u003eROYAL KALENDAR.\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem data-start=\"112\" data-end=\"239\"\u003eThe Royal Kalendar: or, Complete and Correct Annual Register, for England, Scotland, Ireland, and America, for the Year 1803.\u003c\/em\u003e London: printed for J. Debrett and others, 1803. Bound with \u003cstrong data-start=\"300\" data-end=\"320\"\u003eRIDER, Cardanus.\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem data-start=\"321\" data-end=\"381\"\u003eRider’s British Merlin: For the Year of Our Lord God 1803.\u003c\/em\u003e London: printed for the Company of Stationers, 1803.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"436\" data-end=\"701\"\u003eThe 1803 Royal Kalendar and Rider’s British Merlin, in contemporary red morocco, with early military ownership. Small octavo, approx. 6.5 x 4 inches, contemporary red morocco, gilt floral border to boards, gilt spine compartments, marbled endpapers, gilt edges.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"703\" data-end=\"1594\"\u003eA richly informative Georgian pocket reference, combining \u003cem data-start=\"761\" data-end=\"781\"\u003eThe Royal Kalendar\u003c\/em\u003e with \u003cem data-start=\"787\" data-end=\"811\"\u003eRider’s British Merlin\u003c\/em\u003e. These annuals were practical working books, giving a ready guide to government, Parliament, the peerage, army and navy lists, public offices, courts, markets, chronology, coinage, heraldry, roads, fairs and useful tables. Rider’s \u003cem data-start=\"1043\" data-end=\"1059\"\u003eBritish Merlin\u003c\/em\u003e also preserves the older almanac tradition, including seasonal and astrological material, with advice on diet, health and temperament, alongside dates of markets and practical information for daily life. Cardanus Rider is often said, though probably wrongly, to have been the pseudonym of Richard Saunders, medical practitioner and astrologer, a member of the circle of William Lilly. Rider’s \u003cem data-start=\"1453\" data-end=\"1469\"\u003eBritish Merlin\u003c\/em\u003e first appeared in 1653 and continued annually into the nineteenth century. \u003cem data-start=\"1545\" data-end=\"1565\"\u003eThe Royal Kalendar\u003c\/em\u003e was first published in 1767.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1596\" data-end=\"2399\"\u003eThis 1803 volume is especially evocative for its moment. Arthur Wellesley appears here before he was the Duke of Wellington, then a rising Major-General in India. In that same year he won the Battle of Assaye during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, the victory which first made his military reputation. Viscount Nelson is listed in the House of Peers, already Britain’s greatest naval hero after Cape St Vincent, the Nile and Copenhagen; in 1803, as war with Napoleonic France resumed, he returned to Mediterranean command, beginning the campaign that would culminate at Trafalgar. Charles Cornwallis appears among the Marquises, a major imperial figure, remembered for Yorktown but later Governor-General of India, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and recent negotiator of the Peace of Amiens.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2401\" data-end=\"2623\"\u003eEarly ownership inscription “Lieutenant Grosvenor,” likely Thomas Grosvenor, officer in the Coldstream Guards, later General and MP, linking this copy directly to the military and parliamentary world recorded in its pages.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2625\" data-end=\"2886\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eCondition: in its original contemporary red morocco binding, rubbed and worn at extremities, with joints and spine showing age, but attractive and sound. Contents age-toned with occasional marks; early pencil and ink inscriptions to front blanks. A compact, handsome and historically resonant Regency annual.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Royal Kalendar; Rider, Cardanus","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53076770816267,"sku":null,"price":600.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260426_073139050_iOS.jpg?v=1777307895"},{"product_id":"a-history-of-warfare-montgomery-sir-george-edwards-to-lord-portal-presentation-copy","title":"A History of Warfare - Montgomery - Sir George Edwards to Lord Portal Presentation Copy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMONTGOMERY OF ALAMEIN, Field-Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein. A History of Warfare. \u003c\/strong\u003eLondon: Collins, St James’s Place, 1968.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFirst edition. Presentation copy from Sir George Edwards to Lord Portal.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA notable presentation copy, inscribed by Sir George Edwards to Lord Portal: “Lord Portal from George Edwards. Christmas 1968. with best wishes and gratitude for a wonderful nine years together.” The wording is especially significant. Portal was wartime Chief of the Air Staff and, after the war, became the first Chairman of the British Aircraft Corporation. Edwards, one of the defining figures of post-war British aviation, was closely associated with Vickers, the Viscount, VC10, BAC One-Eleven and Concorde. He served at BAC under Portal’s chairmanship and later became one of the principal British industrial champions of Concorde.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst edition, first impression. Quarto. Original red cloth, pictorial endpapers, in the original pictorial dust-wrapper. Profusely illustrated throughout with colour plates, maps, plans, diagrams and black-and-white illustrations. A large, ambitious and highly visual survey of warfare from the ancient world to the nuclear age, written by one of Britain’s most celebrated twentieth-century soldiers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe inscription’s phrase, “a wonderful nine years together,” points directly to the Portal-Edwards relationship at BAC: Portal as the senior airman and chairman, Edwards as the aircraft designer, executive and industrial driving force. Their connection was therefore not casual, but one of close professional collaboration at the highest level of British aviation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Montgomery association is also apposite. Portal and Montgomery occupied different but closely connected levels of wartime command: Portal as Chief of the Air Staff and member of the Chiefs of Staff, Montgomery as the leading British field commander whose campaigns in North Africa, Normandy and north-west Europe depended heavily upon Allied air power. Portal and Montgomery knew one another well and were on first name terms, through wartime high command and post-war military circles. This gives the copy a layered association, bringing together Montgomery’s authorship, Portal’s wartime air command, and Edwards’s post-war leadership of British aircraft production.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePublished by Collins in 1968, the book extends to 584 pages and represents Montgomery’s late summation of military history and doctrine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCondition: a very good copy in a good to very good dust-wrapper. The red cloth binding appears sound and bright. Internally clean and well-preserved, with the presentation inscription clear in blue ink. An excellent military and aviation association copy, linking Montgomery’s history of war with Portal’s wartime air command and Edwards’s post-war leadership of British aviation.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Field-Marshal Montgomery","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53077396390155,"sku":null,"price":700.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260426_075559086_iOS_d209595e-330e-422e-a7d0-bfc7f74f2a15.jpg?v=1777356917"},{"product_id":"bolo-whistler-montgomery-to-lord-portal-presentation-copy-cigs-to-wartime-air-chief","title":"Bolo Whistler - Montgomery to Lord Portal Presentation Copy, CIGS to Wartime Air Chief","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSMYTH, Brigadier The Rt Hon Sir John Smyth, Bt, VC, MC.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBolo Whistler: The Life of General Sir Lashmer Whistler, GCB, KBE, DSO, DL. A Study in Leadership.\u003c\/strong\u003e London: Frederick Muller, 1967.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFirst edition. Field-Marshal Montgomery presentation copy to Lord Portal.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst edition, first impression. A superb presentation copy, inscribed on the front free endpaper: “To Peter from Bernard.” The recipient was Lord Portal, known privately as Peter, wartime Chief of the Air Staff and later Marshal of the Royal Air Force. The presenter was Field-Marshal Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, who contributes one of the forewords to this volume and was Chief of the Imperial General Staff from 1946 to 1948. This is therefore a remarkable written link from the post-war professional head of the British Army to the wartime professional head of the Royal Air Force.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book was written by Brigadier Sir John Smyth, Bt, VC, MC, soldier, politician and military author. Smyth’s own decorations were hard-won: he received the VC in 1915 after carrying bombs forward under intense fire with most of his party killed or wounded, and later received the MC for gallantry in Waziristan. He was well placed to write a study of leadership, and here writes about General Sir Lashmer “Bolo” Whistler, one of Montgomery’s most admired fighting commanders. Montgomery’s printed tribute appears on the dust-wrapper: “He was about the best infantry brigade commander I knew.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe association is exceptional. Montgomery and Portal stood at the summit of Britain’s wartime command structure: Portal as the air strategist and Chief of the Air Staff, Montgomery as the leading British field commander and later head of the Army. Presentation inscriptions between figures of this rank are rarely encountered, and the use of Portal’s familiar name, “Peter”, gives this copy a personal immediacy far beyond a formal ownership association.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA distinguished military biography transformed by a remarkable high-command presentation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCondition: octavo, original black cloth, red spine label lettered in gilt, red top edge, in the original red dust-wrapper. With photographic plates throughout. A very good copy in a good to very good dust-wrapper. The jacket shows rubbing, handling wear and edge wear, with wear to the spine ends and corners, together with noticeable sunning and fading to the spine panel. The binding is sound and clean, the contents well-preserved, and Montgomery’s presentation inscription is clear and legible.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sir John Smyth","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53077451407627,"sku":null,"price":2500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260426_072547417_iOS.jpg?v=1777359862"},{"product_id":"allan-a-michie-keep-the-peace-through-air-power-signed-lord-portal-copy","title":"Allan A. Michie Keep the Peace Through Air Power - Signed - Lord Portal Copy","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"150\" data-end=\"204\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"150\" data-end=\"204\"\u003eMICHIE, Allan A. Keep the Peace Through Air Power.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"206\" data-end=\"245\"\u003eLondon: George Allen \u0026amp; Unwin Ltd, 1944.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"247\" data-end=\"347\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"247\" data-end=\"347\"\u003eFirst edition, signed by the author, from the personal library of Air Chief Marshal Lord Portal.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"349\" data-end=\"515\"\u003eOctavo. Original blue cloth, gilt titles to spine, photographic plates, 172 pp. Signed by the author on the front free endpaper: \u003cstrong data-start=\"478\" data-end=\"515\"\u003e“Allan A. Michie, London - 1944.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"517\" data-end=\"1213\"\u003eA striking wartime argument for the decisive political and military role of air power, written in London in April 1944, after the great Allied bombing campaigns had reshaped the war, but before the atomic bomb had transformed the meaning of aerial warfare altogether. Michie’s central claim is that air power must not only win the war, but keep the peace afterwards. In chapters such as “Air Power: The Sword of Justice,” “Germany Is Already Preparing Her Third World War” and “Japan - The Germany of the Far East,” he argues that Germany and Japan must be disarmed from the air, watched from the air, and restrained by an international air force capable of striking before militarism can revive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1215\" data-end=\"1795\"\u003eAllan A. Michie was an American journalist, author and war correspondent associated with \u003cem data-start=\"1304\" data-end=\"1310\"\u003eTIME\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem data-start=\"1312\" data-end=\"1318\"\u003eLIFE\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem data-start=\"1323\" data-end=\"1344\"\u003eThe Reader’s Digest\u003c\/em\u003e. He had reported from Britain during the war, co-authored \u003cem data-start=\"1403\" data-end=\"1422\"\u003eTheir Finest Hour\u003c\/em\u003e with Walter Graebner, and wrote widely on Allied strategy, aviation and the conduct of modern war. Seen in retrospect, \u003cem data-start=\"1542\" data-end=\"1576\"\u003eKeep the Peace Through Air Power\u003c\/em\u003e occupies a fascinating position: it is a pre-atomic vision of post-war security, written just before Hiroshima and Nagasaki made the control of air-delivered destruction the central strategic problem of the modern age.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1797\" data-end=\"2202\"\u003eThis copy is especially apposite as part of the library of Lord Portal, Chief of the Air Staff during the Second World War and one of the key British figures in the strategic air campaign. Though not dedicated to Portal, the connection is highly resonant: Michie’s book addresses the very questions of bombing, deterrence, air supremacy and post-war enforcement that lay at the centre of Portal’s command.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2204\" data-end=\"2549\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eCondition: a very good copy overall. The blue cloth remains bright and firm, with only light rubbing to extremities and modest softening to spine ends and corners. Gilt spine lettering slightly dulled but legible. Contents lightly toned with scattered small marks and occasional spotting, but generally clean, sound and pleasing. No dust jacket.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MICHIE, Allan A","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53082747011339,"sku":null,"price":250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260426_083415201_iOS_aa4ecc63-1851-4ec5-adb4-7fc7ccd546b7.jpg?v=1777542254"},{"product_id":"donald-mccullough-question-mark-presentation-copy-to-lord-and-lady-portal","title":"Donald McCullough Question Mark - Presentation Copy to Lord and Lady Portal","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"134\" data-end=\"199\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"134\" data-end=\"199\"\u003eMcCULLOUGH, Donald. Question Mark: A Journey Round the World.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"201\" data-end=\"225\"\u003eLondon: Paul Elek, 1949.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"227\" data-end=\"337\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"227\" data-end=\"337\"\u003eFirst edition, first impression, presentation copy from Donald and Nan McCullough to Lord and Lady Portal.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"339\" data-end=\"818\"\u003eOctavo. Original blue cloth, gilt aircraft device to upper board, gilt titles to spine, illustrated throughout by Fougasse, folding route map, original yellow pictorial dust jacket, priced 7\/6 net to the front flap. 164 pp. Presentation inscription to the front free endpaper: \u003cstrong data-start=\"616\" data-end=\"700\"\u003e“Peter - Joan, with love from Nan and Donald McCullough. Park House, June 1952.”\u003c\/strong\u003e “Peter” was the familiar name of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Portal, and Joan was his wife, Lady Joan Portal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"820\" data-end=\"1346\"\u003eA charming and highly personal presentation copy of McCullough’s round-the-world travel book, written after his journey to Japan for the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces. Donald McCullough was already one of Britain’s best-known broadcasting voices as the original question-master of the BBC’s wartime \u003cem data-start=\"1128\" data-end=\"1142\"\u003eBrains Trust\u003c\/em\u003e, a programme that made him a familiar figure to wartime listeners. The inscription, from Donald and Nan McCullough to “Peter - Joan,” gives this copy a warm private association with the Portal household.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1348\" data-end=\"1993\"\u003eThe subject matter is especially apt. McCullough’s journey takes him through Ceylon, Karachi, Singapore, Japan, New Zealand, Honolulu and America, with chapters including “Atomic Economy,” “Problems of Victory,” “Point of No Return” and “Freedom from Work.” Lord Portal’s own wartime and post-war career was deeply bound up with air power and the atomic age: he served as Chief of the Air Staff during the Second World War and later as Controller of Production, Atomic Energy. This is therefore not merely a social presentation copy, but one whose themes of global air travel, post-war Japan and atomic modernity touch closely on Portal’s world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1995\" data-end=\"2228\"\u003eIllustrations are by Fougasse, the pen-name of Cyril Kenneth Bird, celebrated \u003cem data-start=\"2073\" data-end=\"2080\"\u003ePunch\u003c\/em\u003e artist and creator of the famous wartime “Careless Talk Costs Lives” poster campaign. His humorous drawings give the book much of its period charm.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2230\" data-end=\"2564\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eCondition: very good in a good to very good dust jacket. Cloth bright, spine gently faded, gilt still present, contents clean and fresh. Jacket bright and attractive, with some rubbing, creasing, small chips and short tears to the extremities, especially at the spine head and corners, but retaining strong colour and presenting well.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"McCULLOUGH, Donald.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53082912162059,"sku":null,"price":250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260428_142656962_iOS.jpg?v=1777543207"},{"product_id":"sgt-hugh-owen-raf-flying-log-book-shot-down-on-genoa-raid-lord-portal-copy","title":"Sgt Hugh Owen RAF Log Book - Shot Down, POW Stalag Luft III - Lord Portal Copy","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"146\" data-end=\"228\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"146\" data-end=\"228\"\u003eOWEN, Sgt Hugh W. Royal Air Force Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"230\" data-end=\"262\"\u003eRoyal Air Force Form 1767, 1942.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"264\" data-end=\"586\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"264\" data-end=\"586\"\u003eOriginal Second World War RAF flying log book of Sgt Hugh W. Owen, Flight Engineer with 76 Squadron, recording Halifax training, combat operations, the Genoa raid on which he was shot down, capture in occupied France, and later POW imprisonment at Stalag Luft III. From the collection of Air Chief Marshal Lord Portal.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"588\" data-end=\"1073\"\u003eOriginal RAF blue cloth log book, upper cover titled \u003cstrong data-start=\"641\" data-end=\"706\"\u003e“Royal Air Force Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book”\u003c\/strong\u003e, with \u003cstrong data-start=\"713\" data-end=\"726\"\u003e“Owen H.”\u003c\/strong\u003e to the cover and \u003cstrong data-start=\"744\" data-end=\"758\"\u003e“Red Owen”\u003c\/strong\u003e boldly written along the fore-edge. Certificate page completed for \u003cstrong data-start=\"826\" data-end=\"848\"\u003e572232 Sgt Owen H.\u003c\/strong\u003e, qualified as \u003cstrong data-start=\"863\" data-end=\"895\"\u003eFlight Engineer, Lancaster I\u003c\/strong\u003e from 27 June 1942 at No. 4 School of Technical Training, St Athan, and then as \u003cstrong data-start=\"975\" data-end=\"1012\"\u003eFlight Engineer, Halifax I and II\u003c\/strong\u003e from 11 July 1942 with \u003cstrong data-start=\"1036\" data-end=\"1072\"\u003e76 Squadron, Middleton St George\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1075\" data-end=\"1961\"\u003eAn exceptionally important Bomber Command flying log book, moving from training to front-line operations and ending with one of the most dramatic possible entries: \u003cstrong data-start=\"1239\" data-end=\"1271\"\u003e“Operation Genoa - Missing.”\u003c\/strong\u003e The early pages record Halifax conversion and operational preparation, including local flights, cross-country work, air-to-sea firing, gunnery, fighter co-operation, three-engine flying, night flying and searchlight co-operation. Several entries have striking immediacy, including \u003cstrong data-start=\"1553\" data-end=\"1592\"\u003e“Climb to 12,500 - Evasive action,”\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cstrong data-start=\"1593\" data-end=\"1610\"\u003e“Brakes u\/s,”\u003c\/strong\u003e and, in red ink, a searchlight co-operation flight noting the port engine feathered, oil leak and \u003cstrong data-start=\"1709\" data-end=\"1743\"\u003e“two con-rods thro crankcase.”\u003c\/strong\u003e The use of blue and black ink for routine flying, set against the red operational and incident entries, gives the log a powerful visual distinction: the danger gradually moves from training exercise to combat reality.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1963\" data-end=\"2273\"\u003eThe operational section is especially strong. On 23 October 1942 Owen records his first operation to \u003cstrong data-start=\"2064\" data-end=\"2073\"\u003eGenoa\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong data-start=\"2075\" data-end=\"2124\"\u003e“1st Op. Genoa. 1 x 1000, 6 cans, 2 bundles,”\u003c\/strong\u003e with 9 hours 30 minutes of night operational flying. The later entry for 7 November 1942 is starkly entered in red: \u003cstrong data-start=\"2241\" data-end=\"2273\"\u003e“Operation Genoa - Missing.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2275\" data-end=\"2842\"\u003eThis refers to Halifax Mk II \u003cstrong data-start=\"2304\" data-end=\"2313\"\u003eDT515\u003c\/strong\u003e of \u003cstrong data-start=\"2317\" data-end=\"2336\"\u003eNo. 76 Squadron\u003c\/strong\u003e, part of a force of 175 RAF bombers sent against Genoa on 7 November 1942. The International Bomber Command Centre archive identifies the crew as: George Thom, Flying Sergeant, RCAF, pilot; D. J. McBride, Sergeant, RNZAF, wireless operator; Norman H. Gorfunkle, Sergeant, RAF, navigator; Larry W. Horne, Sergeant, RAF, mid-upper gunner; \u003cstrong data-start=\"2674\" data-end=\"2715\"\u003eHugh W. Owen, Sergeant, RAF, engineer\u003c\/strong\u003e; Derek L. Reed, Sergeant, RAF, rear gunner; and J. R. White, Sergeant, RCAF, bomb aimer. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2844\" data-end=\"3415\"\u003eThe IBCC account, based on pilot George Thom’s narrative and a gendarmerie report, gives a vivid account of the loss. DT515 crossed the French coast between Dunkirk and Ostend, avoiding searchlights, but was damaged by flak. Near Reims, engine trouble became severe; the aircraft could not cross the Alps on three engines with a full bomb load, the bombs were jettisoned safe, and when further engine trouble developed Thom ordered the crew to bale out. The Halifax crashed and exploded near Sexfontaines \/ Juzennecourt, Haute-Marne. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3417\" data-end=\"4115\"\u003eThe aftermath makes this log book still more important. Five of the seven crew were captured. Norman Gorfunkle was badly injured and later died in hospital at Chaumont. A gendarmerie report records that \u003cstrong data-start=\"3620\" data-end=\"3672\"\u003eHugh Owen was arrested at daybreak on 9 November\u003c\/strong\u003e, described as badly shocked, after parachuting from the aircraft. Pilot George Thom made an attempted escape route towards Switzerland, was later captured by the Gestapo near Perpignan, and was sent to a POW camp in Germany. Larry Horne, the mid-upper gunner, successfully evaded capture and returned to Britain via the Resistance and Switzerland. Reed, Owen, White and McBride were released in May 1945. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4117\" data-end=\"4627\"\u003eOwen was later held at \u003cstrong data-start=\"4140\" data-end=\"4159\"\u003eStalag Luft III\u003c\/strong\u003e, the Luftwaffe prisoner-of-war camp later famous as the site of \u003cstrong data-start=\"4224\" data-end=\"4244\"\u003ethe Great Escape\u003c\/strong\u003e. No evidence has been found that Owen himself was one of the Great Escape participants, and none of the DT515 crew names appear in the standard list of the 76 Allied airmen who escaped through tunnel “Harry” in March 1944. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e The Stalag Luft III association should therefore be stated carefully, but it remains a highly significant POW connection.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4629\" data-end=\"5042\"\u003eProvenance: from the collection of Air Chief Marshal Lord Portal, Chief of the Air Staff during the Second World War and the central RAF figure of Britain’s strategic air war. The association is exceptionally resonant: a front-line Halifax flight engineer’s operational log, recording training, combat, loss, capture and captivity, preserved in the collection of the man who directed the RAF at the highest level.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5044\" data-end=\"5303\"\u003eCondition: very good for an operational wartime log book. The blue boards show expected service wear, light rubbing and handling, with toning to the leaves, but the binding remains sound and the manuscript entries are clear, legible and compelling throughout.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5044\" data-end=\"5303\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCrew of Halifax Mk II DT515 - 76 Squadron - Genoa raid, 7 November 1942:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5381\" data-end=\"5970\"\u003eGeorge Thom - Flying Sergeant, RCAF - pilot - captured after attempted escape\u003cbr data-start=\"5458\" data-end=\"5461\"\u003eD. J. McBride - Sergeant, RNZAF - wireless operator - captured, released May 1945\u003cbr data-start=\"5542\" data-end=\"5545\"\u003eNorman H. Gorfunkle - Sergeant, RAF - navigator - captured, badly injured, died in hospital\u003cbr data-start=\"5636\" data-end=\"5639\"\u003eLarry W. Horne - Sergeant, RAF - mid-upper gunner - evaded capture, returned to Britain\u003cbr data-start=\"5726\" data-end=\"5729\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"5729\" data-end=\"5818\"\u003eHugh W. Owen - Sergeant, RAF - flight engineer - captured, POW, later Stalag Luft III\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"5818\" data-end=\"5821\"\u003eDerek L. Reed - Sergeant, RAF - rear gunner - captured, released May 1945\u003cbr data-start=\"5894\" data-end=\"5897\"\u003eJ. R. White - Sergeant, RCAF - bomb aimer - captured, released May 1945\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Royal Air Force","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53082934870283,"sku":null,"price":1250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260426_073731057_iOS.jpg?v=1777545520"},{"product_id":"paul-provencher-i-live-in-the-woods-presentation-copy-to-lord-portal","title":"Paul Provencher I Live in the Woods - Presentation Copy to Lord Portal","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"138\" data-end=\"232\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"138\" data-end=\"232\"\u003ePROVENCHER, Paul. I Live in the Woods: A Book of Personal Recollections and Woodland Lore.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"234\" data-end=\"292\"\u003eFredericton, New Brunswick: Brunswick Press Limited, 1953.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"294\" data-end=\"451\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"294\" data-end=\"451\"\u003eFirst edition, first impression, presentation copy from Paul Provencher to Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Portal, in a remarkably fresh dust jacket.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"453\" data-end=\"885\"\u003eOctavo. Original green cloth, gilt titles to upper board and spine, original pictorial dust jacket priced $4.00, illustrated by the author. Foreword by Colonel R. R. McCormick. Inscribed on the half-title: \u003cstrong data-start=\"659\" data-end=\"885\"\u003e“To Lord Portal. Perhaps you will have the opportunity of applying some of the ideas during your visits here. I would very much like to be with you on some such occasions. Paul Provencher. Baie Comeau Que. April 2nd 1955.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"887\" data-end=\"1387\"\u003eA superb presentation copy of Provencher’s Canadian woodland classic, linking \u003cstrong data-start=\"965\" data-end=\"1049\"\u003eMarshal of the Royal Air Force Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford\u003c\/strong\u003e, not to wartime aviation directly, but to the post-war industrial and resource world of northern Quebec. Provencher was a Laval-trained forest engineer, woodsman, explorer and survival expert, hired in 1929 by the Quebec North Shore Paper Company at Baie-Comeau, where he became one of the defining figures of the region’s forestry life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1389\" data-end=\"2281\"\u003eThe inscription is the key. Provencher writes to Portal from \u003cstrong data-start=\"1450\" data-end=\"1465\"\u003eBaie-Comeau\u003c\/strong\u003e, hoping that he might apply the book’s ideas “during your visits here” and adding that he would like to accompany him “on some such occasions.” This strongly suggests a real personal and practical connection formed around Lord Portal’s visits to the Canadian North Shore. By the mid-1950s, \u003cstrong data-start=\"1756\" data-end=\"1802\"\u003eMarshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Portal\u003c\/strong\u003e had moved from supreme wartime air command into major industrial leadership: he was chairman of \u003cstrong data-start=\"1899\" data-end=\"1920\"\u003eBritish Aluminium\u003c\/strong\u003e from 1953 to 1958, and later chairman of the \u003cstrong data-start=\"1966\" data-end=\"1998\"\u003eBritish Aircraft Corporation\u003c\/strong\u003e. British Aluminium’s Canadian interests make the association especially resonant: Baie-Comeau became the site of a major aluminium smelter developed by Canadian British Aluminium, connecting Provencher’s forested Quebec landscape with Portal’s post-war aluminium and aircraft world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2283\" data-end=\"2772\"\u003eThe copy therefore joins three distinct histories: Provencher’s practical knowledge of the woods, Lord Portal’s transition from Chief of the Air Staff to post-war industrial statesman, and the industrial opening of remote Canadian resource country. The book itself is both memoir and manual, covering maps, compass work, winter and summer travel, shelters, tents, cooking equipment, trapping, bow and arrow, fishing, preserving food, edible and medicinal plants, and survival in the woods.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2774\" data-end=\"3120\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eCondition: near fine in a very good to near fine dust jacket. The cloth is exceptionally bright and clean, gilt fresh, contents crisp. The jacket is striking, with strong colour, only light rubbing, small nicks and minor creasing at the spine head and corners. A remarkable survival in this condition, and a fine presentation copy to Lord Portal.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Provencher, Paul","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53083204124939,"sku":null,"price":500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260428_084458694_iOS.jpg?v=1777551938"},{"product_id":"donald-armstrong-the-reluctant-warriors-signed-copy-from-lord-portal-s-library","title":"Donald Armstrong The Reluctant Warriors - Signed Copy from Lord Portal’s Library","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"140\" data-end=\"235\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"140\" data-end=\"235\"\u003eARMSTRONG, Donald. The Reluctant Warriors: The Decline and Fall of the Carthaginian Empire.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"237\" data-end=\"279\"\u003eNew York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1966.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"281\" data-end=\"403\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"281\" data-end=\"403\"\u003eFirst edition, first impression, signed by the author, from the library of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Portal.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"405\" data-end=\"638\"\u003eOctavo. Original tan cloth, spine lettered in red and black, map, original pictorial dust jacket priced $5.95. Foreword by Admiral Arleigh Burke. Signed by the author to the front free endpaper: \u003cstrong data-start=\"600\" data-end=\"638\"\u003e“Donald Armstrong, April 9, 1967.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"640\" data-end=\"1387\"\u003eAn attractive signed copy of Armstrong’s military study of the Third Punic War, preserved in the library of \u003cstrong data-start=\"748\" data-end=\"832\"\u003eMarshal of the Royal Air Force Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford\u003c\/strong\u003e. The exact circumstances of the association remain to be explored, but it is a highly fitting Portal provenance copy: Armstrong was a retired U.S. Army brigadier general whose wartime career lay in ordnance, industrial mobilisation, tank-automotive procurement and military education, while Lord Portal had stood at the summit of British air strategy during the Second World War and later occupied major post-war industrial roles. The shared terrain is not Carthage itself, but the larger problem of how states organise power, industry, war and survival.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1389\" data-end=\"2018\"\u003eArmstrong treats the final Punic struggle not simply as ancient history, but as a study in strategic failure. His preface presents the destruction of Carthage as a contest between a militaristic Rome and a commercially minded Carthage which had abandoned war as an instrument of policy, surrendered unconditionally, and disarmed itself. The jacket is explicit in its modern analogy, describing the book as a study of cold war, propaganda, subversion, terror, blackmail, unilateral disarmament and wars of attrition. This gives the volume a distinctly 1960s strategic edge, particularly interesting in a copy owned by Lord Portal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2020\" data-end=\"2478\"\u003eArmstrong himself brought unusually practical authority to such a theme. During the Second World War he commanded or directed major U.S. Army industrial and training organisations, including the Tank-Automotive Center and the Army Industrial College, and later wrote on military and strategic history. The foreword by Admiral Arleigh Burke, wartime destroyer commander and later Chief of Naval Operations, further strengthens the book’s military credentials.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2480\" data-end=\"2811\"\u003eCondition: very good in a very good dust jacket. The cloth is clean and firm, with slight toning and light handling. Contents clean and bright. The jacket presents well, with gentle age-toning, minor rubbing, light spotting and small nicks to the spine ends and corners. A pleasing signed copy with distinguished Portal provenance.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Donald Armstrong","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53083264286987,"sku":null,"price":250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260428_084005618_iOS.jpg?v=1777552723"},{"product_id":"sir-frank-clarke-world-air-control-board-presentation-copy-to-lord-portal","title":"Sir Frank Clarke World Air Control Board - Presentation Copy to Lord Portal","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"143\" data-end=\"198\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"143\" data-end=\"198\"\u003eCLARKE, Sir Frank. World Air Control Board: A Plan.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"200\" data-end=\"237\"\u003eMelbourne: Robertson \u0026amp; Mullens, 1944.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"239\" data-end=\"383\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"239\" data-end=\"383\"\u003eFirst edition, first impression, presentation copy from Sir Frank Clarke, from the collection of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Portal.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"385\" data-end=\"745\"\u003eOctavo. Original printed grey paper-covered boards with pale blue ruled border, tan cloth spine, 97 pp. With the author’s compliments slip loosely inserted, inscribed in Clarke’s hand: \u003cstrong data-start=\"570\" data-end=\"653\"\u003e“With my compliments. Should not such a plan be given a hearing? Frank Clarke.”\u003c\/strong\u003e Cover subtitle: \u003cstrong data-start=\"670\" data-end=\"745\"\u003e“If nations may build commercial planes they can convert to warplanes.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"747\" data-end=\"1619\"\u003eA remarkable wartime hardback proposal for the international control of aviation, preserved in the collection of \u003cstrong data-start=\"860\" data-end=\"944\"\u003eMarshal of the Royal Air Force Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford\u003c\/strong\u003e, Chief of the Air Staff during the Second World War. Clarke’s book is not simply about air traffic or civil aviation. It is an urgent political and military plan for preventing the next great war by controlling the means by which it might be fought. Written in 1944, before the atomic bomb had entered public consciousness, it belongs to the anxious moment when air power itself seemed the decisive threat to future civilisation. Its central fear is printed plainly on the cover: if nations are allowed to build commercial aircraft without international supervision, those same aircraft, factories, aerodromes and fuel systems may become the framework of a new bomber force.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1621\" data-end=\"2300\"\u003eThe contents show the breadth of Clarke’s scheme. He imagines an Air Control Board created after the peace treaty, with authority over aircraft factories, aerodromes, civil aviation, fuel, inspection, sanctions, policing, recruiting and training. Chapter headings include \u003cstrong data-start=\"1893\" data-end=\"2069\"\u003e“Looking back from 1955,” “Difficulties at the Peace Conference and their solutions,” “First beginnings of A.C.B.,” “A.C.B. first challenged,” “Petrol and lubricating oil,”\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong data-start=\"2074\" data-end=\"2182\"\u003e“Retrospect - Versailles, 1919; the air clauses; the nine reflection of armed forces, Washington, 1922.”\u003c\/strong\u003e The work stands squarely in the tradition of inter-war disarmament, but sharpened by the experience of total air war.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2302\" data-end=\"2886\"\u003eThe Portal provenance gives this copy exceptional force. Lord Portal was the supreme professional head of the RAF during the war, and few British readers could have been more directly connected to the questions Clarke raises: strategic bombing, civil aircraft conversion, inspection of airfields, the control of aircraft production, fuel supply, and the policing of peace from the air. Clarke’s inserted note - \u003cstrong data-start=\"2713\" data-end=\"2761\"\u003e“Should not such a plan be given a hearing?”\u003c\/strong\u003e - reads almost as an appeal to exactly the kind of figure who could understand both the promise and the danger of air power.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2888\" data-end=\"3199\"\u003eCondition: very good for a fragile wartime Australian hardback. Printed boards lightly toned and handled, cloth spine browned, minor rubbing and small marks, but the printed cover remains strong, the binding sound, and the contents clean and well preserved. A rare and unusually apposite Portal provenance copy.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"CLARKE, Sir Frank","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53083415937291,"sku":null,"price":850.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260428_075058265_iOS.jpg?v=1777556507"},{"product_id":"cover-of-darkness-by-roderick-chisholm-signed-copy-from-lord-portal-s-library","title":"Cover of Darkness by Roderick Chisholm - Signed Copy from Lord Portal’s Library","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"1242\" data-end=\"1284\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1242\" data-end=\"1284\"\u003eCHISHOLM, Roderick. Cover of Darkness.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1286\" data-end=\"1316\"\u003eLondon: Chatto \u0026amp; Windus, 1953.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1318\" data-end=\"1443\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1318\" data-end=\"1443\"\u003eFirst edition, first impression, signed by the author, from the collection of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Portal.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1445\" data-end=\"1682\"\u003eOctavo. Original blue cloth, gilt titles to spine, photographic frontispiece and plates, original pictorial dust jacket priced 12s. 6d. net. Foreword by Air Chief Marshal Sir William Elliot. Signed by Roderick Chisholm on the title page.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1684\" data-end=\"2519\"\u003eA superb first edition of one of the classic first-hand accounts of RAF night-fighting, preserved in unusually fresh condition and with distinguished Portal provenance. Chisholm was no ordinary memoirist. A decorated night-fighter pilot, C.B.E., D.S.O., D.F.C., he flew with No. 604 Squadron, helped develop the techniques of radar-assisted interception, later commanded the Fighter Interception Unit, and served in the shadowy world of Bomber Command support and radio counter-measures. His book follows the development of British night-fighting from the desperate improvisation of 1940, when fighter pilots searched for enemy bombers in what the jacket calls a virtual “blind man’s buff,” through to the increasingly sophisticated use of airborne interception radar, countermeasures, deception and offensive night-fighter operations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2521\" data-end=\"3220\"\u003eThe Portal provenance gives the copy a particularly fine military association. \u003cstrong data-start=\"2600\" data-end=\"2684\"\u003eMarshal of the Royal Air Force Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford\u003c\/strong\u003e, was Chief of the Air Staff during the central years of the Second World War. Chisholm’s work sat directly within Portal’s strategic world: the defence of Britain from night bombing, the technical race in radar and interception, and the later effort to protect Bomber Command crews by disrupting the German night-fighter system. The book is dedicated “to the crews of Bomber Command,” and its account of night-fighter development, fighter interception and electronic warfare would have had obvious significance in Portal’s own library.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3222\" data-end=\"3579\"\u003eThe foreword by Air Chief Marshal Sir William Elliot adds another high-level RAF connection, describing the book as “essentially a book about the air by an airman.” The jacket design, adapted from Frank Wootton’s \u003cem data-start=\"3435\" data-end=\"3461\"\u003eMosquitoes Sing at Night\u003c\/em\u003e, and the striking photographic plates of Mosquito aircraft and night operations give the volume strong visual appeal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3581\" data-end=\"3988\"\u003eCondition: near fine in a very good to near fine dust jacket. The blue cloth is exceptionally bright and clean, gilt fresh, contents clean and crisp. The dust jacket presents beautifully, with deep colour, only light rubbing, minor creasing and small nicks to the spine head and extremities. A notably sharp copy of a book often found tired, here signed by the author and with exceptional Portal provenance.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"CHISHOLM, Roderick","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53083779629323,"sku":null,"price":500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260428_142210601_iOS.jpg?v=1777568543"},{"product_id":"f-e-simon-the-neglect-of-science-1951-presentation-copy-to-lord-portal","title":"F. E. Simon - The Neglect of Science, 1951, Presentation Copy to Lord Portal","description":"\u003cp data-end=\"249\" data-start=\"112\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSIMON (Sir Francis Eugene). \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong data-end=\"216\" data-start=\"162\"\u003eThe Neglect of Science: Essays Addressed to Laymen \u003c\/strong\u003eOxford: Basil Blackwell, 1951.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"368\" data-start=\"251\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-end=\"368\" data-start=\"251\"\u003eFirst edition, first impression. Presentation copy from the author to Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Portal.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"619\" data-start=\"370\"\u003eOctavo. Original red cloth, gilt-lettered spine, in the original printed dust jacket priced 8\/6 net. vi, 138 pp. With the publisher’s loosely inserted order form advertising \u003cem data-end=\"572\" data-start=\"544\"\u003eThe Physical Basis of Mind\u003c\/em\u003e and Fred Hoyle’s \u003cem data-end=\"618\" data-start=\"590\"\u003eThe Nature of the Universe\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"1349\" data-start=\"621\"\u003eA superb presentation copy of Simon’s timely post-war argument for scientific literacy, inscribed on the front free endpaper: \u003cstrong data-end=\"790\" data-start=\"747\"\u003e“To Lord Portal with compliments! FES.”\u003c\/strong\u003e F. E. Simon, later Sir Francis Simon, was one of Britain’s leading physicists, a Fellow of the Royal Society and an important figure in low-temperature physics and wartime atomic research, particularly work connected with uranium isotope separation. The recipient, Lord Portal, gives this copy exceptional resonance. After serving as Chief of the Air Staff during the Second World War, Portal became Controller of Production, Atomic Energy, at the Ministry of Supply from 1946 to 1951, placing him at the centre of Britain’s early post-war nuclear programme.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"1788\" data-start=\"1351\"\u003eThe author-recipient link is therefore unusually direct: this is a book about the national importance of science, presented by a major atomic scientist to one of the senior administrators of British atomic energy policy. Published in 1951, at the point where wartime science, nuclear power, public education and national recovery were all pressing public questions, Simon’s essays speak directly to the world Portal was helping to shape.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"2211\" data-start=\"1790\"\u003eCondition excellent. The red cloth remains notably bright and fresh, the gilt clear, the binding firm and square, and the contents clean. The dust jacket is very well preserved, with light toning, dust-soiling and minor edge wear, but no serious loss. The survival of the jacket and inserted publisher’s order form adds considerably to the appeal. A highly desirable presentation copy, with exceptional Portal provenance. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sir Francis [Franz] Simon","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53085814587659,"sku":null,"price":600.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260501_141953402_iOS.jpg?v=1777650532"},{"product_id":"thomas-s-power-design-for-survival-inscribed-to-lord-portal-cold-war-nuclear-deterrence","title":"General Power to Air Marshal Portal - Design for Survival, Inscribed Cold War Nuclear Strategy","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"366\" data-end=\"490\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"397\" data-end=\"425\"\u003ePower, General Thomas S. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"428\" data-end=\"451\"\u003eDesign for Survival \u003c\/strong\u003eNew York: Coward-McCann, Inc., 1965.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"492\" data-end=\"637\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"492\" data-end=\"637\"\u003eFirst edition, second impression. Presentation copy from General Thomas S. Power to Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Portal of Hungerford.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"951\" data-end=\"1523\"\u003eA remarkable Cold War presentation copy from one hard-edged architect of strategic air power to another. Thomas Sarsfield Power was Commander-in-Chief of Strategic Air Command from 1957 to 1964, succeeding Curtis LeMay and presiding over SAC at the height of the missile, bomber and nuclear-alert age. He had commanded B-29s from Guam in 1945, and on 9 March that year led and directed the first large-scale firebombing raid on Tokyo, one of the most devastating air attacks of the war. He later served during the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, took part in Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll, and helped build SAC into the airborne instrument of American nuclear deterrence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1525\" data-end=\"1933\"\u003eOctavo. Original black cloth, gilt titles to spine, Strategic Air Command device stamped in gilt to the upper board, in the original blue printed dust jacket. Inscribed on the front free endpaper: \u003cstrong data-start=\"856\" data-end=\"949\"\u003e“Lord Portal of Hungerford \/ Keep the Free World Strong \/ Thomas Power \/ Gen USAF (Ret).”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1525\" data-end=\"1933\"\u003eLord Portal was Britain’s wartime Chief of the Air Staff, the RAF’s supreme strategic air commander, and after 1945 an important figure in Britain’s atomic-energy administration. The connection is therefore unusually powerful: Power’s book on nuclear deterrence and Western survival, personally inscribed to the British air commander whose own career moved from wartime strategic bombing into the atomic age.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1935\" data-end=\"2322\"\u003eThe inscription, \u003cstrong data-start=\"1952\" data-end=\"1985\"\u003e“Keep the Free World Strong,”\u003c\/strong\u003e gives the copy a striking immediacy. Written in the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis and amid intense Cold War debate over deterrence, bombers, missiles and Western resolve, the phrase feels sharply prescient today, when nuclear risk, military preparedness and the defence of democratic alliances are again urgent public questions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2324\" data-end=\"2687\"\u003eA very well-preserved copy. The black cloth remains clean and sharp, the gilt bright, the binding firm, and the contents clean with only light natural toning. The original dust jacket shows rubbing, light marking and minor edge wear, but presents strongly. A compelling presentation copy with exceptional Portal provenance and unusually direct Cold War resonance.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Power, General Thomas S.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53085905912075,"sku":null,"price":1250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260426_091029643_iOS.jpg?v=1777651592"},{"product_id":"beyond-the-caspian-presentation-copy-from-carruthers-to-air-marshal-portal","title":"Beyond the Caspian - Presentation Copy from Carruthers to Air Marshal Portal","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"203\" data-end=\"322\"\u003eCARRUTHERS, Douglas. \u003cstrong data-start=\"224\" data-end=\"277\"\u003eBeyond the Caspian: A Naturalist in Central Asia.\u003c\/strong\u003e Edinburgh and London: Oliver and Boyd, 1949.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"324\" data-end=\"863\"\u003eA superb presentation copy from the author to Marshal of the Royal Air Force Charles Frederick Algernon Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford, inscribed on the front free endpaper: “To Peter Portal with the Author’s compliments.” Portal was one of the leading RAF figures of the twentieth century, serving as Commander-in-Chief of Bomber Command in 1940 and then as Chief of the Air Staff throughout the Second World War. The use of “Peter”, his familiar name among family and friends, gives the inscription a notably personal quality.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"865\" data-end=\"1180\"\u003eFirst edition, first impression. Octavo, original red cloth lettered in gilt to spine and upper board, in the original pictorial dust jacket, unclipped at 22\/6 net. Illustrated with twenty-two full-page plates, six of them in colour, and with the folding colour map of Central Asia and adjacent regions at the rear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1182\" data-end=\"1879\"\u003eThe presentation is made especially interesting by the loosely inserted note on Carruthers’s own Elder Farm, Grimston, King’s Lynn headed paper, listing the book’s falconry references: “Falcons pp. 84, 152, 156-162, 208-212.” This appears to have been selected with Portal’s personal interests in mind. Portal had a long-standing enthusiasm for falconry, dating back to his youth, and the subject remained one of his private sporting and natural-history interests. Carruthers, himself a noted explorer, naturalist and Royal Geographical Society medallist, was well placed to appeal to that interest, particularly through his Central Asian observations on birds, hunting, landscape and native life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1881\" data-end=\"2143\"\u003eA very good copy, the red cloth bright with light rubbing to extremities. Contents clean, inscription clear. Dust jacket very good, unclipped, with light soiling, rubbing, small chips and edge wear, but substantially complete and attractive. Folding map present.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2145\" data-end=\"2400\"\u003eScarce in the original dust jacket, and especially desirable as a presentation copy. At the time of cataloguing, no other signed or presentation copy appears to be available on the market, and certainly none with comparable Portal and falconry provenance.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"CARRUTHERS, Douglas","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53093037474059,"sku":null,"price":1000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260428_090332971_iOS.jpg?v=1777967165"},{"product_id":"men-of-the-r-a-f-rothenstein-presentation-copy-to-air-chief-marshal-portal","title":"Men of the R.A.F. - Rothenstein Presentation Copy to Air Chief Marshal Portal","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"121\" data-end=\"230\"\u003eROTHENSTEIN, Sir William, and CECIL, Lord David. \u003cstrong data-start=\"170\" data-end=\"191\"\u003eMen of the R.A.F.\u003c\/strong\u003e London: Oxford University Press, 1942.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"232\" data-end=\"842\"\u003eA significant presentation copy from Sir William Rothenstein to Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, from Portal’s personal collection, with Rothenstein’s signed presentation slip mounted to the front endpaper: “For Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal without whose unfailing support this book cd never have been, from Wm Rothenstein, 9.4.42.” The inscription gives the copy particular force: Portal was not merely a recipient, but central to the making of the book. He contributes the foreword, appears as the first portrait, and is acknowledged by Rothenstein as the necessary supporter behind the project.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"844\" data-end=\"1309\"\u003eFirst edition. Large octavo, original cloth, in the original pictorial dust jacket, priced 12s. 6d. net to the front flap. With forty full-page portrait reproductions by Sir William Rothenstein, a foreword by Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, “Some Account of Life in the R.A.F.” by Rothenstein, “A Layman’s Glimpse” by Lord David Cecil, a poem by John Masefield, and a complete list of Rothenstein’s R.A.F. drawings made between November 1939 and October 1941.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1311\" data-end=\"2065\"\u003eRothenstein, an important portraitist, writer and former Principal of the Royal College of Art, had long experience in recording public figures, and during the war produced more than 200 portraits of RAF personnel, forty of which were selected for this volume. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e The book forms a carefully staged wartime tribute, moving from Portal at the head of the service to men of every rank. Among those represented or listed are figures such as Sir Arthur Longmore, Sir Hugh Dowding, Sir Richard Peirse, Guy Gibson, and George R. Ward, placing famous commanders beside pilots, gunners, wireless operators and ground staff. The result is both an RAF memorial volume and a collective portrait of the service at a critical moment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2067\" data-end=\"2436\"\u003eA very good copy internally, with the presentation slip clear and well preserved. Dust jacket present and attractive, with chipping to the upper front corner, creasing, rubbing and edge wear, but substantially complete and protected. A compelling Portal presentation copy of a book in which Portal himself was a participant, sitter, foreword writer and enabling patron.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sir William Rothenstein","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53093043798283,"sku":null,"price":650.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260501_142603265_iOS.jpg?v=1777967820"},{"product_id":"coastal-command-saunders-presentation-copy-to-air-chief-marshal-portal","title":"Coastal Command - Saunders Presentation Copy to Air Chief Marshal Portal","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"116\" data-end=\"311\"\u003eSAUNDERS, Hilary St George. \u003cstrong data-start=\"144\" data-end=\"264\"\u003eCoastal Command: The Air Ministry Account of the Part Played by Coastal Command in the Battle of the Seas 1939-1942.\u003c\/strong\u003e London: His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1942.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"313\" data-end=\"967\"\u003eA superb presentation copy from the author to Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, from Portal’s personal collection, inscribed on the title-page: \u003cstrong\u003e“To Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal with the best wishes of the author, H. St G Saunders, Christmas 1942.”\u003c\/strong\u003e Although published anonymously as an official Air Ministry account, the inscription identifies the author as Hilary St George Saunders, the wartime writer behind several of the celebrated official RAF books, including \u003cem data-start=\"791\" data-end=\"814\"\u003eThe Battle of Britain\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem data-start=\"816\" data-end=\"832\"\u003eBomber Command\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem data-start=\"837\" data-end=\"854\"\u003eCoastal Command\u003c\/em\u003e. Saunders wrote these works officially and anonymously for the Government. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"969\" data-end=\"1449\"\u003eFirst edition. Large pictorial softcover, 143 pp., illustrated throughout with photographs, maps and dramatic double-page layouts. Original colour pictorial wrappers, showing a Coastal Command airman and convoy seen through binoculars; rear wrapper with periscope motif. The book is well illustrated with scenes of convoy protection, anti-U-boat patrols, attacks on enemy shipping, the Norwegian campaign, reconnaissance, rescue, and the day-to-day work of the RAF’s maritime arm.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1451\" data-end=\"1859\"\u003eThis was one of the Ministry of Information’s famous “Official War Books”, designed as a cheap, vivid, heavily illustrated publication to explain the war effort to a mass public. The series was intended to tell the British war story, build morale, and project a picture of Britain as efficient, modern and united. By 1943 the series had sold more than 20 million copies. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1861\" data-end=\"2270\"\u003eThe association is unusually strong. Portal, as Chief of the Air Staff, was directly concerned with Coastal Command’s resources, efficiency and relationship with the Admiralty, at a time when maritime air power was central to the Battle of the Atlantic. Coastal Command’s role was crucial in protecting Britain’s maritime communications and confronting the U-boat threat. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2272\" data-end=\"2549\"\u003eA very good copy, internally clean, with some light handling and wear to the wrappers, slight rubbing and creasing at extremities, and mild age toning. A scarce signed presentation example of an important wartime pamphlet, made exceptional by its direct presentation to Portal.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"SAUNDERS, Hilary St George","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53094070288651,"sku":null,"price":850.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260505_134728005_iOS.jpg?v=1777992355"},{"product_id":"the-legacy-of-egypt-glanville-presentation-copy-to-air-chief-marshal-portal","title":"The Legacy of Egypt - Glanville Presentation Copy to Air Chief Marshal Portal","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"77\" data-end=\"168\"\u003eGLANVILLE, S. R. K., editor. \u003cstrong data-start=\"106\" data-end=\"130\"\u003eThe Legacy of Egypt.\u003c\/strong\u003e Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, 1942.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"170\" data-end=\"830\"\u003eA presentation copy from Stephen Glanville, inscribed on the front free endpaper: \u003cstrong\u003e“from Stephen Glanville, April 1942”\u003c\/strong\u003e, from the personal collection of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Charles Frederick Algernon Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford. Glanville was one of the leading Egyptologists of his generation, later Professor of Egyptology at Cambridge and Provost of King’s College, Cambridge, but the wartime association is especially interesting: during the Second World War he served on the RAF Air Staff, reaching the rank of Wing Commander, placing him within the same Air Ministry and RAF world in which Portal served as Chief of the Air Staff.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"832\" data-end=\"1250\"\u003eFirst edition, first impression. Octavo, original dark blue cloth, gilt to spine, Oxford crest at foot. Published by the Clarendon Press in 1942. A substantial collaborative survey of Egyptian civilisation, edited by Glanville, with chapters on chronology, literature, art, science, medicine, law, religion, materials, Egypt and Israel, Egypt and Rome, and Christianity. Illustrated with plates and figures throughout.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1252\" data-end=\"1856\"\u003eLoosely inserted is a manuscript note, dated 1.5.42, shortly after Glanville’s presentation inscription. One side records names and addresses, while the reverse contains Egyptian historical and chronological jottings, including references to the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms, Hammurabi, Sakkara, Ramesses II, Amenhotep and Seti I. The note appears to be a private reading or study note, preserved with the book, and gives the copy an additional personal dimension: Portal was not merely keeping a presentation volume from a wartime colleague, but appears to have engaged directly with its subject matter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1858\" data-end=\"2074\"\u003eCondition: very good. Binding firm, cloth bright with minor marks and light rubbing. Contents clean with some natural toning. Glanville inscription clear. Manuscript note loosely inserted and preserved with the book.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2076\" data-end=\"2217\"\u003eA thoughtful wartime association copy, linking a distinguished Egyptologist serving on the RAF Air Staff with the RAF’s senior wartime chief.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Stephen Glanville","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53094147227915,"sku":null,"price":500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260505_070515682_iOS.jpg?v=1777993169"},{"product_id":"u-s-war-aims-lippmann-presentation-copy-to-air-chief-marshal-portal","title":"U.S. War Aims - Lippmann Presentation Copy to Air Chief Marshal Portal","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"151\" data-end=\"218\"\u003eLIPPMANN, Walter. \u003cstrong data-start=\"169\" data-end=\"187\"\u003eU.S. War Aims.\u003c\/strong\u003e London: Hamish Hamilton, 1944.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"220\" data-end=\"1010\"\u003eA superb presentation copy from Walter Lippmann to Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, from Portal’s personal collection, inscribed on the front free endpaper during Lippmann’s wartime visit to London. Lippmann was among the most influential American political commentators of the twentieth century, and \u003cem data-start=\"526\" data-end=\"541\"\u003eU.S. War Aims\u003c\/em\u003e addressed precisely the questions facing Allied leaders in 1944: the settlement with Germany and Japan, Anglo-American relations, the Atlantic community, the Soviet Union, China, and the construction of a durable post-war order. The association is highly appropriate. Portal, as Chief of the Air Staff, was one of Britain’s principal wartime military figures, deeply involved in Allied strategy at the moment when Lippmann was analysing the political shape of victory.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1012\" data-end=\"1474\"\u003eFirst British edition, first impression. Octavo, original pale cloth lettered in blue to spine, in the original printed dust jacket priced 7s. 6d. net. First published in Britain by Hamish Hamilton in 1944. The volume is preserved in notably fresh condition, the fragile wartime jacket surviving unusually well, with only light toning, minor chipping and rubbing to extremities, and small areas of edge wear. Cloth clean and bright, binding firm, contents clean.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1476\" data-end=\"1819\"\u003eThe inscription appears to read: \u003cstrong\u003e“To Sir Charles Portal \/ from his sincere admirer \/ W. Lippmann \/ London \/ Nov. 11, 1944.”\u003c\/strong\u003e The date is significant: this copy was presented in London while the war was moving toward its final strategic and diplomatic phase, and while the shape of the post-war settlement was becoming a pressing Allied concern.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1821\" data-end=\"2110\"\u003eThe uneven paper quality is characteristic of British wartime production. The earlier gatherings are more browned and acidic, while later sections are on better stock, almost certainly reflecting paper rationing and mixed supplies under war economy conditions rather than later alteration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2112\" data-end=\"2423\"\u003eAt the time of cataloguing, no other signed copy appears to be available on the market. It is remarkable that the only signed example traced is not merely signed, but inscribed to a figure so directly connected with the book’s wartime subject matter: Britain’s senior RAF commander during the Allied war effort.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2425\" data-end=\"2578\"\u003eA strong wartime association copy, linking the leading American foreign-policy journalist of the period with one of Britain’s central wartime commanders.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Walter Lippmann","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53094186844427,"sku":null,"price":1250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260505_134113147_iOS.jpg?v=1777993939"},{"product_id":"seven-pilots-charles-graves-presentation-copy-to-air-chief-marshal-portal","title":"Seven Pilots - Charles Graves Presentation Copy to Air Chief Marshal Portal","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"119\" data-end=\"187\"\u003eGRAVES, Charles. \u003cstrong data-start=\"136\" data-end=\"153\"\u003eSeven Pilots.\u003c\/strong\u003e London: Hutchinson \u0026amp; Co., 1943.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"189\" data-end=\"1055\"\u003eA superb presentation copy from Charles Graves to Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, from Portal’s personal collection, inscribed on the front free endpaper. The inscription appears to read: \u003cstrong\u003e“To Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal from Charles Graves, Jan. 11, 1943.”\u003c\/strong\u003e The association is an excellent one. Graves was a journalist, broadcaster and wartime writer whose RAF “true-life novels” translated recent air-war experience into popular narrative form. \u003cem data-start=\"649\" data-end=\"663\"\u003eSeven Pilots\u003c\/em\u003e followed \u003cem data-start=\"673\" data-end=\"693\"\u003eThe Thin Blue Line\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem data-start=\"698\" data-end=\"712\"\u003eThe Avengers\u003c\/em\u003e, and was written under official auspices as part of the wider wartime effort to bring the work of the RAF before the reading public. Portal, as Chief of the Air Staff, was the senior professional head of the RAF, making him the most fitting recipient for a presentation copy of a book dedicated to the experiences and character of RAF airmen.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1057\" data-end=\"1634\"\u003eFirst edition. Octavo, original blue cloth, in the striking original pictorial dust jacket priced 8\/6 net, with RAF roundel design and bold yellow lettering to the front panel. With 17 illustrations. The jacket is a major feature of this copy: bright, fresh and highly attractive, with only minor rubbing, slight edge wear and a few small nicks, but with the colouring unusually strong for a wartime production. The book itself is also in excellent condition, the cloth clean and firm, the contents naturally toned owing to thin war-economy paper, but clean and well preserved.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1636\" data-end=\"1932\"\u003eThe book presents seven airmen’s stories in Graves’s semi-documentary style, mixing reportage, reconstruction and patriotic wartime fiction. It reflects the RAF’s public image at a crucial point in the war: technical, courageous, youthful, and increasingly central to Britain’s military identity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1934\" data-end=\"2182\"\u003eOrdinary copies survive, but usually with tired jackets or none at all. A particularly strong RAF association copy in exceptional jacketed condition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Charles Graves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53094203130123,"sku":null,"price":750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260505_065146814_iOS.jpg?v=1777995019"},{"product_id":"the-wing-rom-landau-presentation-copy-to-the-raf-s-wartime-chief","title":"The Wing - Rom Landau Presentation Copy to the RAF’s Wartime Chief","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"69\" data-end=\"160\"\u003eLANDAU, Rom. \u003cstrong data-start=\"82\" data-end=\"129\"\u003eThe Wing: Confessions of an R.A.F. Officer.\u003c\/strong\u003e London: Faber and Faber, 1945.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"162\" data-end=\"1059\"\u003eA superb presentation copy from Rom Landau to Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, from Portal’s personal collection, inscribed on the front free endpaper: \u003cstrong\u003e“To Air Chief Marshal \/ Sir Charles Portal \/ with the author’s compliments \/ Rom Landau \/ 6.4.45.”\u003c\/strong\u003e The connection between author and recipient is both professional and textual. Landau served in the RAF during the war, acting as a liaison officer with the Polish Air Force in Britain, and \u003cem data-start=\"607\" data-end=\"617\"\u003eThe Wing\u003c\/em\u003e is his autobiographical account of service life. Portal, as Chief of the Air Staff, was the senior professional head of the RAF and the figure ultimately responsible for the service within which Landau worked. The association is sharpened by the fact that Portal appears in the book itself, in the “Polish Adventure” section, where Landau records preparations for a visit by Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal to a Polish training station.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1061\" data-end=\"1543\"\u003eFirst edition. Octavo, original cloth, in the striking original Faber dust jacket, priced 16s. net to the front flap. The jacket is a major feature of this copy: bold, atmospheric and unusually well preserved, with the white wing design standing sharply against the deep blue and shadowed ground. There is some rubbing, creasing, small chips and edge wear, especially at the head of the spine and corners, but the jacket remains bright, substantially complete and highly attractive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1545\" data-end=\"2064\"\u003eThe book is described on the jacket as a “private R.A.F. log book”, distilled from some 45,000 words written at night after the day’s work. It ranges from training and RAF bureaucracy to fighter stations, Polish airmen, air-gunners, moral reflection and wartime service life, ending with “Meditations on Loch Ness.” Contents toned, as usual with wartime paper, but clean and firm. A strong RAF association copy, written from inside the service, inscribed to its wartime chief, and textually connected to Portal himself.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rom Landau","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53094219251979,"sku":null,"price":850.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260501_143454716_iOS.jpg?v=1777995807"},{"product_id":"destiny-can-wait-special-polish-air-force-presentation-copy-to-air-marshall-lord-portal-raf-s-wartime-chief","title":"Destiny Can Wait - The Polish Air Force’s Presentation Copy to Lord Portal, with Polish Pilots’ Memorial Speech","description":"\u003cp\u003eLISIEWICZ, M., et al. \u003cstrong data-start=\"99\" data-end=\"166\"\u003eDestiny Can Wait: The Polish Air Force in the Second World War.\u003c\/strong\u003e London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1949.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA deeply significant presentation copy from the Polish Airmen to Marshal of the Royal Air Force Charles Frederick Algernon Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford, from Portal’s personal collection, specially bound in full black leather with gilt spine lettering and Polish Air Force emblem. Inscribed on the half-title: \u003cstrong\u003e“To Marshal of the Royal Air Force \/ The Viscount Portal of Hungerford \/ with gratitude \/ from \/ Polish Airmen. \/ 30th November 1949.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"645\" data-end=\"1308\"\u003eThis is an exceptionally meaningful copy. Portal was not merely a distinguished recipient: he contributes the foreword, and during the war he was Chief of the Air Staff, the senior professional head of the RAF. The Polish Air Force in Britain served within the wider RAF command structure, with Polish squadrons making a celebrated contribution to the Battle of Britain, the bomber offensive, Coastal Command, fighter operations, and the wider Allied air war. In this context the inscription “with gratitude from Polish Airmen” has real force. It reads as a collective act of remembrance and thanks from the Polish airmen whose wartime service the book preserves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1310\" data-end=\"1820\"\u003eFirst edition, first impression. Thick octavo, specially bound in black leather, gilt to spine, marbled or plain endpapers not present from images, illustrated throughout with photographs, maps, diagrams and striking colour plates. Foreword by Portal. The book includes the editorial note explaining that it was designed as a preliminary account rather than a final official history, making it one of the earliest substantial English-language memorial histories of the Polish Air Force in the Second World War.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1822\" data-end=\"2062\"\u003eCondition: near fine. Binding firm, leather fresh and bright, gilt strong, contents clean with only light natural toning. A distinguished copy in a superior special binding, with an inscription of major cultural and historical significance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2064\" data-end=\"2264\"\u003eA remarkable association copy: the Polish Air Force’s own wartime history, presented by Polish airmen to the RAF commander who wrote its foreword and under whose wartime command structure they served.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr data-start=\"340\" data-end=\"343\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"345\" data-end=\"463\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"345\" data-end=\"463\"\u003eOffered together with an original draft speech for the unveiling of the Polish Pilots’ Memorial, 3rd November 1948\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"465\" data-end=\"681\"\u003eAccompanying the book is a remarkable two-page typed and heavily manuscript-corrected first draft of a speech delivered, or prepared for delivery, at the unveiling of the Polish Pilots’ Memorial on 3rd November 1948.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"683\" data-end=\"1182\"\u003eHeaded in typescript: \u003cstrong data-start=\"705\" data-end=\"800\"\u003e“First Draft \/ Speech at the unveiling of the Polish Pilots’ Memorial \/ 3rd November 1948.”\u003c\/strong\u003e The address honours the \u003cstrong data-start=\"825\" data-end=\"866\"\u003e1,243 members of the Polish Air Force\u003c\/strong\u003e who, after Poland and France had been overrun, gave their lives in the cause of freedom. It refers directly to the Polish pilots’ famous role in the \u003cstrong data-start=\"1016\" data-end=\"1037\"\u003eBattle of Britain\u003c\/strong\u003e, noting that over 200 enemy aircraft were confirmed destroyed by Polish pilots in that battle alone, and that 33 Polish pilots gave their lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1184\" data-end=\"1690\"\u003eThe draft continues by recalling the formation in Britain of Polish squadrons and training schools, their fighter and bomber operations, their part in the Battle of the Atlantic, and their service with the Tactical Air Forces on the Continent. In manuscript, the speech is substantially revised throughout, with numerous corrections, insertions, deletions, and rewritten passages. Particularly evocative is the added closing language, offering “our true sympathy” to those relations “who mourn their loss.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1692\" data-end=\"2132\"\u003eThe speech has a strong contextual relationship with \u003cem data-start=\"1745\" data-end=\"1763\"\u003eDestiny Can Wait\u003c\/em\u003e. Both the book and the speech belong to the immediate post-war moment in which the Polish Air Force’s sacrifice was being formally recorded, commemorated, and publicly honoured in Britain. The book preserves that history in published form, while this draft speech captures the act of remembrance in process, with the language of tribute still being shaped on the page.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2134\" data-end=\"2473\"\u003eTogether, they form an unusually resonant pairing: the Polish Air Force’s early published wartime history, specially presented by Polish Airmen to Lord Portal, accompanied by a contemporary draft speech for one of the most significant British memorial acts honouring Polish airmen who served and died under the wider RAF command structure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2475\" data-end=\"2717\"\u003eCondition of speech: two typed leaves, folded, with age toning, handling creases, small marginal wear and manuscript corrections throughout. Preserved as a working draft, with all the immediacy and historical interest such a document conveys.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"LISIEWICZ, M","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53094244745483,"sku":null,"price":3500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260430_081724908_iOS.jpg?v=1777997206"},{"product_id":"swifter-than-eagles-sir-john-salmond-s-presentation-copy-to-viscount-portal-of-hungerford","title":"Swifter than Eagles: Sir John Salmond’s Presentation Copy to Viscount Portal of Hungerford","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"36\" data-end=\"122\"\u003eA Superb RAF Presentation Copy from Sir John Salmond to Viscount Portal, with Note\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"124\" data-end=\"297\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"124\" data-end=\"237\"\u003eLAFFIN, John. Swifter than Eagles: The Biography of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Maitland Salmond.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"237\" data-end=\"240\"\u003eLondon and Edinburgh: William Blackwood \u0026amp; Sons Ltd, 1964.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"299\" data-end=\"712\"\u003eFirst edition, first impression. Octavo. Original blue cloth, gilt lettering to spine, in the original dust jacket. Signed boldly by Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Maitland Salmond on the front free endpaper, with two accompanying documents: a printed publisher’s slip stating that the copy was \u003cstrong\u003e“Sent on the instructions of Sir John Salmond”\u003c\/strong\u003e, and a handwritten note from Salmond to \u003cstrong\u003e“Peter”\u003c\/strong\u003e, Charles Portal’s familiar name.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"714\" data-end=\"1288\"\u003eA superb RAF presentation copy from one Marshal of the Royal Air Force to another, linking two of the most important figures in the development of British air power. Sir John Salmond, one of the founding generation of senior RAF commanders, had served as Chief of the Air Staff in the late 1920s and again briefly in 1930, helping shape the inter-war service that Portal would later lead through the decisive years of the Second World War. Portal, as Chief of the Air Staff from 1940 to 1945, became the central RAF figure in the direction of Britain’s wartime air strategy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1290\" data-end=\"1633\"\u003eThe accompanying note, dated 23 October 1964 and addressed to “\u003cstrong\u003eSir Peter”\u003c\/strong\u003e, reads approximately: \u003cstrong\u003e“You have already read some of this - but I hope the rest will interest you - yours, John.”\u003c\/strong\u003e This is a notably personal survival, suggesting that Portal had prior knowledge of the material and that Salmond wished him to see the completed biography.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1635\" data-end=\"1897\"\u003eA fine copy in a very good, bright dust jacket, with some creasing, rubbing and small tears to the extremities, but unusually well preserved. A highly significant association copy, strengthened considerably by the retained note and publisher’s transmission slip.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sir John Salmond (LAFFIN, John)","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53095275331851,"sku":null,"price":850.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260505_065820721_iOS_ce706ab0-59a7-413c-bc47-a53cd2027660.jpg?v=1778060422"},{"product_id":"douglas-bader-s-fight-for-the-sky-signed-from-the-library-of-air-marshall-lord-portal","title":"Douglas Bader’s Fight for the Sky, Signed, from the Library of Air Marshal Lord Portal","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"27\" data-end=\"144\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"27\" data-end=\"106\"\u003eBADER, Douglas. Fight for the Sky: The Story of the Spitfire and Hurricane.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"106\" data-end=\"109\"\u003eLondon: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1973.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"146\" data-end=\"724\"\u003eA striking signed first edition of Bader’s account of the Spitfire, Hurricane and fighter war, with exceptional provenance. Bader was one of the most famous RAF fighter pilots of the Second World War, credited with major success despite the loss of both legs before the war, and closely associated with 242 Squadron, the Duxford Wing, Tangmere, the Battle of Britain and the fighter offensive over Europe. Portal, as Chief of the Air Staff from 1940 to 1945, stood at the summit of the RAF during the same conflict, responsible for the overall direction of British air strategy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"726\" data-end=\"1094\"\u003eFirst edition, first impression. Quarto. Original blue boards, silver lettering to spine, red endpapers, photographic and colour illustrations throughout, in the original dust jacket. Signed by Douglas Bader on the front free endpaper. From the personal collection of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Charles Frederick Algernon Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1096\" data-end=\"1428\"\u003eThe link is direct and important: Bader was one of the public legends of Fighter Command; Portal was the wartime professional head of the entire Royal Air Force. This copy therefore unites the fighter pilot as celebrated combat leader with the senior air commander under whose strategic authority Britain’s wartime air arm operated.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1430\" data-end=\"1927\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eThe book is especially attractive in this condition. The dust jacket is notably bright and fresh, with strong colour, very little fading and only light handling. The original price remains visible on the flap. The red endpapers are clean and vivid, and Bader’s signature sits boldly against the front free endpaper. A highly desirable copy, combining Bader’s signature, first edition status, outstanding visual condition and provenance from one of the central RAF figures of the twentieth century.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Douglas Bader","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53095283392779,"sku":null,"price":500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260428_092309793_iOS.jpg?v=1778059902"},{"product_id":"wake-laugh-with-me-presentation-copy-to-marshal-of-the-raf-lord-portal-privately-printed","title":"Wake, Laugh With Me - Presentation Copy to Marshal of the RAF Lord Portal, Privately Printed","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"54\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"54\"\u003eWAKE, Major-General Sir Hereward. \u003cem data-start=\"36\" data-end=\"52\"\u003eLaugh With Me.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"56\" data-end=\"80\"\u003ePrivately printed, 1946.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"82\" data-end=\"185\"\u003eFirst edition, first impression. Privately printed presentation copy from the author to Charles Portal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"187\" data-end=\"386\"\u003eQuarto. Original patterned paper wrappers, printed title label to upper cover in red and black, plain spine, illustrated with line drawings and comic sketches, contents printed on good quality paper.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"388\" data-end=\"518\"\u003eInscribed by the author on the front free endpaper: \u003cstrong data-start=\"440\" data-end=\"518\"\u003e“To a distinguished Air Marshal \/ from the author \/ Hereward Wake \/ 1948.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"520\" data-end=\"1022\"\u003eA rare privately printed collection of verse, parody, sporting pieces, family jokes and country-house humour by Major-General Sir Hereward Wake, 13th Baronet, CB, CMG, DSO. Wake states in the opening note that the book was not issued for the public market, but privately printed for those within his family and friendship circle: \u003cstrong data-start=\"850\" data-end=\"1022\"\u003e“So I launch my rhymes into print just for those of my family and friends who can put up even with parody so long as they are reminded of good days and how we laughed.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1024\" data-end=\"2017\"\u003eThis copy comes from the personal collection of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Charles Frederick Algernon Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford, Chief of the Air Staff during the central years of the Second World War. Wake and Portal do not appear to have served in the same unit or direct command, but their worlds clearly overlapped within Britain’s senior defence establishment. Wake was a decorated King’s Royal Rifle Corps officer, won the DSO in the Second Boer War, and served during the First World War in the secretariat of the Allied Supreme War Council at Versailles, where his work concerned enemy strength and supply. In the Second World War he returned to national service as commander of the Northern Home Guard from 1940 to 1943, while Portal, appointed Chief of the Air Staff in 1940, directed the RAF through the main strategic air war. Wake also chaired the Northamptonshire Territorial Army Association, placing him firmly within the wartime home-defence establishment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2019\" data-end=\"2311\"\u003eA charming and highly personal survival, made more important by its presentation to one of Britain’s foremost wartime commanders. Near fine, with bright wrappers, clean label, crisp contents and only light handling. Extremely rare in commerce, and especially desirable with Portal provenance.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WAKE, Major-General Sir Hereward","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53095312916747,"sku":null,"price":750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260428_081812242_iOS.jpg?v=1778060726"},{"product_id":"britain-s-homage-to-28-000-american-dead-astor-presentation-to-air-marshall-lord-portal","title":"Britain’s Homage to 28,000 American Dead - Astor Presentation to Air Marshal Lord Portal","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eASTOR, John J. Britain’s Homage to 28,000 American Dead. London: The Times Publishing Company, 1952.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA distinguished presentation copy from John J. Astor, proprietor and chairman of The Times, to Marshal of the Royal Air Force Viscount Portal of Hungerford. The volume itself was produced by The Times for presentation to the next of kin of the 28,000 American servicemen who died while based in Britain, or in operations from Britain, during the Second World War. Loosely inserted is the original typed presentation letter on The Times letterhead, dated 22 June 1953, addressed familiarly to \u003cstrong\u003e“Dear Portal”\u003c\/strong\u003e and signed by Astor, offering this copy as a gesture of Anglo-American friendship to one of Britain’s foremost wartime air commanders.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst edition, first impression. Quarto, original dark blue cloth, gilt St Paul’s device and titles to upper board and spine, photographic illustrations throughout, Churchill’s printed message reproduced in facsimile, as issued.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe association is a strong one. Astor, proprietor and chairman of The Times, had served in the First World War, was wounded at Messines in 1914, returned to the Western Front, and lost a leg to shellfire in 1918. In the Second World War he served in home defence and organised a Home Guard unit drawn from newspaper employees. Portal, one of Britain’s principal wartime commanders, served in both wars, rising from RFC pilot to Chief of the Air Staff from 1940 to 1945. At Casablanca in 1943 he was chosen to coordinate British and American bomber forces in the combined offensive against Germany. This copy therefore links the publisher of Britain’s tribute to America with one of the senior airmen who helped forge the wartime Anglo-American military partnership.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA clean, attractive copy, with notable Portal provenance and original presentation letter.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ASTOR, John J.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53095422329099,"sku":null,"price":500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260505_071158038_iOS.jpg?v=1778063575"},{"product_id":"global-mission-h-h-arnold-presentation-copy-to-wartime-air-chief-lord-portal","title":"Global Mission - H. H. Arnold Presentation Copy to Wartime Air Chief Lord Portal","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"1269\" data-end=\"1470\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eARNOLD, Henry H. “Hap”. Global Mission. New York: Harper \u0026amp; Brothers, 1949. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1472\" data-end=\"2259\"\u003eA remarkable Anglo-American air-power association copy, inscribed by General of the Air Force Henry Harley “Hap” Arnold to Marshal of the Royal Air Force Viscount Portal of Hungerford, from Portal’s private collection. Arnold, nicknamed “Hap” and also known to colleagues as “The Chief”, was taught to fly by the Wright brothers, became one of America’s earliest military aviators, and rose to command the United States Army Air Forces in the Second World War. Under him the American air arm expanded into the largest air force yet seen, with Arnold directing strategic bombing, the B-29 programme, and the Twentieth Air Force operations against Japan. He was later the only U.S. Air Force officer to hold five-star rank as General of the Air Force.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1472\" data-end=\"2259\"\u003eFirst edition, first impression. Original black cloth, gilt spine label, in the original pictorial dust jacket priced $5.00.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2261\" data-end=\"2848\"\u003eThe recipient, Lord Portal, was Arnold’s British counterpart as Chief of the Air Staff from 1940 to 1945. Their link was central to Allied bombing policy: after Casablanca, Portal coordinated the British and American bomber forces in the Combined Bomber Offensive, while Arnold drove the USAAF’s daylight strategic bombing campaign. Arnold’s postwar vision also reached into the atomic age: he helped found Project RAND to study long-range future warfare, while Portal became Controller of Production, Atomic Energy, at Britain’s Ministry of Supply. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2850\" data-end=\"2961\"\u003eArnold’s own memoir of air power, presented to the British air chief with whom he helped shape Allied strategy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2963\" data-end=\"2985\"\u003eFull transcription\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2987\" data-end=\"3074\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“I hope that you find \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ethis book of interest.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"3033\" data-end=\"3036\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eH H Arnold\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"3046\" data-end=\"3049\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEl Rancho Feliz\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"3064\" data-end=\"3067\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCalif.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ARNOLD, H. H.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53095624802571,"sku":null,"price":2250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260426_082058724_iOS.jpg?v=1778071166"},{"product_id":"general-george-c-marshall-s-u-s-army-chief-of-staff-report-lord-portal-s-high-command-copy","title":"General George C. Marshall’s U.S. Army Chief of Staff Report - Lord Portal’s High-Command Copy","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"360\"\u003eA magnificent high-command presentation copy of General George C. Marshall’s final wartime report, specially bound in black morocco-grain leather, gilt stamped with the arms of the United States and titled to the upper cover, with Portal’s name in gilt: \u003cstrong data-start=\"254\" data-end=\"316\"\u003e“Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Charles F. A. Portal.”\u003c\/strong\u003e From the private collection of Lord Portal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"362\" data-end=\"539\"\u003eUNITED STATES ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF. \u003cstrong data-start=\"397\" data-end=\"521\"\u003eBiennial Report of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army to the Secretary of War, July 1, 1943, to June 30, 1945.\u003c\/strong\u003e Washington, United States Government Printing Office, 1945.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"541\" data-end=\"1072\"\u003eThis is not merely an official government report, but one of the central documentary monuments of Allied victory, presented in a deluxe named binding to one of the key British commanders of the war. General George C. Marshall, U.S. Army Chief of Staff from 1939 to 1945, directed the astonishing expansion of the American Army from a small interwar force into a global instrument of war. His report covers the decisive final period of the conflict, from the build-up to Normandy and the liberation of Europe to the defeat of Japan.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1074\" data-end=\"1596\"\u003eThe recipient could hardly be more significant. Portal was Chief of the Air Staff from 1940 to 1945, Marshal of the Royal Air Force, and Britain’s senior air strategist. Within the Anglo-American command system, Portal and Marshall sat at the same level of Allied decision-making: Marshall as America’s principal army strategist, Portal as Britain’s principal air chief. Both served within the machinery of the Combined Chiefs of Staff, the body through which British and American high command coordinated global strategy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1598\" data-end=\"2077\"\u003eTheir professional relationship was direct and consequential. They met and worked through the great Allied conferences and strategic committees that determined the war’s direction, including the conduct of the bombing offensive, the allocation of resources between Europe and the Pacific, and the timing and support of the invasion of northwest Europe. Portal’s RAF strategy and Marshall’s army strategy were not separate worlds, but interlocking parts of the same Allied design.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2079\" data-end=\"2482\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eThe binding makes the status of this copy unmistakable. It was produced not for ordinary distribution, but as a named presentation copy for Portal himself - the British air chief whose command stood beside Marshall’s army command in the Allied war effort. A superb survival, beautifully preserved, and a remarkable association between two of the most important Allied commanders of the Second World War.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"General George C. Marshall","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53095715832075,"sku":null,"price":6250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260501_141305442_iOS_64e2c3f9-e969-42be-870e-1bf49448812a.jpg?v=1778074516"},{"product_id":"album-of-polish-airmen-author-s-presentation-copy-to-lord-portal-wartime-head-of-the-raf","title":"Album of Polish Airmen - Author’s Presentation Copy to Lord Portal, Wartime Head of the RAF","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"528\" data-end=\"632\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"528\" data-end=\"632\"\u003eSADLOWSKA, Slawa. Album of Polish Airmen. Letchworth: Letchworth Printers Ltd., 1947. First edition.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"634\" data-end=\"1153\"\u003eA remarkable memorial volume devoted to the Polish airmen who fought within the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Sadlowska was a Polish civilian artist, not a serving combatant, and her own Artist’s Note states that she came to Britain in 1943 and, with RAF permission, travelled to operational stations to draw the Polish pilots and crewmen whose likenesses are reproduced here. Her portraits form both an artistic record and an act of cultural remembrance for men who fought far from an occupied homeland.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1155\" data-end=\"1542\"\u003eFirst edition, first impression. Quarto, publisher’s dark blue cloth lettered in red, 4 preliminary pages and 69 portrait plates with accompanying biographical text. Presentation inscription in blue ink from the artist: “\u003cstrong\u003eWith many thanks for your kind collaboration from the artist, Slawa Sadlowska.”\u003c\/strong\u003e From the private collection of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Portal of Hungerford.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1544\" data-end=\"2299\"\u003eThe Portal provenance gives this copy exceptional significance. Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford, served in the First World War, transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, won the MC, DSO and Bar, and later became Chief of the Air Staff during the Second World War. Under Portal’s wartime command the RAF incorporated the exiled Polish Air Force, whose pilots became among the most celebrated Allied airmen of the conflict, especially in the Battle of Britain and later bomber and fighter operations. The printed foreword by Portal, combined with Sadlowska’s personal thanks for “collaboration,” creates a powerful link between the Polish artist preserving these men’s memory and the British air chief who publicly recognised their sacrifice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2301\" data-end=\"2455\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eLight wear to cloth extremities, internally clean and complete, a culturally important presentation copy with outstanding RAF and Polish exile provenance.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"SADLOWSKA, Slawa","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53096047411467,"sku":null,"price":350.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260430_082810849_iOS.jpg?v=1778082180"},{"product_id":"air-power-for-peace-eugene-e-wilson-signed-copy-from-lord-portal-s-private-collection","title":"Air Power for Peace - Eugene E. Wilson, Signed Copy from Lord Portal’s Private Collection","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"166\" data-end=\"282\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"166\" data-end=\"282\"\u003eWILSON, Eugene E. Air Power for Peace. New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1945.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"284\" data-end=\"678\"\u003eFirst edition, first impression. Octavo, publisher’s burgundy cloth, silver spine lettering and silver aircraft vignette to upper board, vii, 184 pp., diagrams. Signed by \u003cstrong\u003eEugene E. Wilson\u003c\/strong\u003e on the front free endpaper, \u003cstrong\u003e“Washington, April 45.”\u003c\/strong\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"680\" data-end=\"1167\"\u003eWilson 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 \u003cem data-start=\"989\" data-end=\"1010\"\u003eAir Power for Peace\u003c\/em\u003e, 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1169\" data-end=\"1519\"\u003eLord 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1521\" data-end=\"2012\"\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WILSON, Eugene E","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53096074838283,"sku":null,"price":350.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260430_080340055_iOS.jpg?v=1778083296"},{"product_id":"a-diary-with-letters-1931-1950-lord-portal-s-signed-copy-of-a-whitehall-insider-s-memoir-descriptio","title":"A Diary with Letters 1931-1950 - Lord Portal’s Signed Copy of a Whitehall Insider’s Memoir","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"43\" data-end=\"147\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"43\" data-end=\"147\"\u003eJONES, Thomas. A Diary with Letters 1931-1950. London: Oxford University Press, 1954. First edition.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"149\" data-end=\"377\"\u003eThomas Jones, C.H., was one of the most discreetly influential figures in twentieth-century British public life. A Welsh educationalist, civil servant and confidant of prime ministers, he served as Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet from 1916 to 1930, working closely with Lloyd George, Bonar Law, Stanley Baldwin and Ramsay MacDonald. His diaries and letters are valued for their unusually intimate view of Whitehall, Cabinet government, interwar politics, appeasement, war and the remaking of Britain after 1945.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"149\" data-end=\"377\"\u003eOctavo, first edition, first impression. original brown cloth gilt, portrait frontispiece, 582 pp., in the original dust jacket. Signed \u003cstrong\u003e“Portal” \u003c\/strong\u003eon the front free endpaper, from the private collection of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Portal of Hungerford.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"892\" data-end=\"1369\"\u003eLord Portal belonged to the same high world of British public service and national decision-making. A decorated First World War airman, he rose to become Marshal of the Royal Air Force and Chief of the Air Staff during the Second World War, standing at the centre of Britain’s wartime air strategy. In this copy, Jones’s private record of the political and administrative machinery of government is preserved in the library of one of the senior commanders shaped by that world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1371\" data-end=\"1647\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eA notable Whitehall and wartime association: the reflections of a Cabinet insider, owned by Britain’s wartime air chief. The dust jacket is a little rubbed and chipped to the edges and spine ends, with some soiling to the rear panel; the cloth remains clean and the contents are sound.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"JONES, Thomas.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53101690454283,"sku":null,"price":300.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260428_141621978_iOS.jpg?v=1778227430"},{"product_id":"president-de-gaulle-to-lord-portal-chief-of-the-air-staff-signed-war-memoirs","title":"President de Gaulle’s Signed War Memoirs from Lord Portal’s Collection","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"110\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDE GAULLE, Charles. \u003cem data-start=\"20\" data-end=\"69\"\u003eMémoires de Guerre: L’Appel, L’Unité, Le Salut.\u003c\/em\u003e Paris: Librairie Plon, 1954, 1956, 1959.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"112\" data-end=\"957\"\u003eA magnificent high-command provenance set, joining two of the central figures of Allied wartime leadership. These were not books passing through ordinary literary channels, but de Gaulle’s own account of France’s fall, resistance, liberation and restoration, preserved in the personal collection of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Portal of Hungerford, Britain’s wartime Chief of the Air Staff and one of the principal architects of Allied air power. Portal stood at the summit of British strategy, close to Churchill and the Combined Chiefs of Staff, while de Gaulle, from London exile to national saviour, became the embodiment of Free France. Their connection belongs to the highest level of the war: London, Free France, Allied command, D-Day, liberation, and the complex but essential partnership between Britain and de Gaulle’s France.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"959\" data-end=\"1397\"\u003eFirst editions, first impressions in the original French, three volumes in the publisher’s printed wrappers, all issued on alfa Cellunaf paper, the special reserved issue produced not for the ordinary trade but for those with a direct claim upon the history de Gaulle was recording. The limitation states that copies on alfa Cellunaf were reserved for former members of Free France and for members of the fighting and Resistance associations of the 1939-1945 war - in other words, for veterans and participants of the very struggle described in these memoirs. This gives the set a rare internal significance: it was a commemorative issue intended for the wartime community of Free France and the Resistance, not simply a deluxe bibliophile printing. The first volume alone is numbered, as issued: No. 6598. The third volume, Le Salut: 1944-1946, is signed by Charles de Gaulle in blue ink and dated 7-11-59, French format for 7 November 1959.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1399\" data-end=\"1810\"\u003eThe date is highly resonant. De Gaulle signed the 1944-1946 volume on 7 November 1959, in the year he became President of the Fifth Republic, and only days before Armistice Day. The gesture therefore carries both personal and national meaning: the wartime leader, now head of France, signing the culminating volume of his definitive memoirs, covering liberation, victory and the re-founding of French authority.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1812\" data-end=\"2209\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eA complete unrestored set in the fragile original wrappers. Spines and covers show toning, spotting, rubbing, light creasing, small edge wear and minor splits, but the volumes retain their authentic period character. Internally clean and bright, with the signed title especially strong and attractive. A superb Anglo-French wartime provenance set of exceptional cultural and historical importance.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DE GAULLE, Charles","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53110248997131,"sku":null,"price":7000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260512_071200695_iOS.jpg?v=1778577786"},{"product_id":"marchwood-park-guinea-pig-club-album-presented-to-lady-portal-1943","title":"Marchwood Park Guinea Pig Club Album Presented to Lady Portal, 1943","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"777\" data-end=\"860\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"777\" data-end=\"860\"\u003ePORTAL, Lady. Marchwood Park Presentation Album - Guinea Pig Club Airmen, 1943.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"862\" data-end=\"1341\"\u003eWartime presentation album given to Lady Portal, wife of Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, Chief of the Air Staff, as a memento of her visit to Marchwood Park on 29 November 1943. Bound in brown quarter leather with gilt rules and textured boards, containing mounted photographs, manuscript title and explanatory pages, staff list, roll of injured airmen, residents’ signatures, and two loose typed programme sheets for the week ending Sunday 5 December 1943.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1343\" data-end=\"1884\"\u003eThis is a remarkable survival from one of the most humane and experimental corners of the air war. Marchwood Park was not a hospital in the ordinary sense. The album explains that it opened on 6 September 1943 as “an experiment in re-habilitation of injured members of aircrews,” created through cooperation between the Air Ministry and the British Power Boat Company. Its purpose was to help badly injured airmen, many of them connected with the Guinea Pig Club, recover not only from wounds but from the shock of returning to life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1886\" data-end=\"2593\"\u003eThe Guinea Pig Club had grown out of Sir Archibald McIndoe’s pioneering plastic surgery work at Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead. Its members were RAF and Allied aircrew who had undergone experimental reconstructive surgery after burns, crashes and disfiguring injuries. The East Grinstead Museum records that between operations the Guinea Pigs convalesced at Dutton Homestall or Marchwood Park in Hampshire. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e The RAF Benevolent Fund describes the Guinea Pig Club as beginning with badly burned airmen and growing into a unique mutual-support community for men undergoing long, repeated operations and rehabilitation. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2595\" data-end=\"3404\"\u003eThe loose Marchwood programme brings that recovery to life with unusual immediacy. The week’s activities are almost cinematic: workshops each morning; football, netball and sailing trials; a lecture in the library; gramophone music; films in the lounge; a grand dance; concerts by troops and local entertainers; a visit to the Anchor Inn at Eastleigh; and a tour of the Power Boat works. This was rehabilitation as McIndoe understood it - not hiding wounded men away, but returning them to companionship, confidence, humour, work and public life. East Grinstead became famous as “the town that didn’t stare,” because local people were encouraged to accept the injured airmen without shrinking from their scars. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e Marchwood Park appears here as part of that same philosophy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3406\" data-end=\"4337\"\u003eThe human weight of the album lies in its names. Among the airmen listed is Josef Koukal, Czech pilot of 310 Squadron, a Battle of Britain veteran and founder member of the Guinea Pig Club. Koukal was shot down in September 1940, badly burned, underwent numerous operations, and eventually returned to flying - an extraordinary story of survival and defiance. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e Also present is John Brian Wood Birks, D.F.C., whose East Grinstead record describes serious facial injury and a long course of reconstructive operations after a propeller accident at RAF Cottesmore. Joseph Grudzien, a Canadian air gunner, is another important name: East Grinstead Museum records him as a Marchwood Park figure, injured in a Halifax crash in August 1943. These are not anonymous convalescents; they are pilots, observers, navigators, wireless operators and air gunners from the front line of the air war.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4339\" data-end=\"4863\"\u003eThe photographs make the record still more immediate. One mounted image shows Marchwood Park itself; another shows a group of young airmen at the entrance, with a handwritten caption identifying “Dusty” Rhodes, Harold Tunwell, “Wishy,” Brian Birks, Dicky Battrick, Jock Craig, “Mitch,” Jack Reynolds and Jimmy Mc..., several of whom also appear in the album’s roll of injured airmen. The signatures of staff and residents then turn the volume into a collective memorial, written by the very people whose recovery it records.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4865\" data-end=\"5335\"\u003eLady Portal’s presence is significant. The album is presented to her as \u003cstrong\u003e“the wife of the C.A.S.”\u003c\/strong\u003e - the wife of the Chief of the Air Staff - and as thanks for her interest in the patients and staff. That places Marchwood Park under the sympathetic notice of the very top of RAF command. The album therefore joins three worlds: the wounded airmen of McIndoe’s Guinea Pig Club, the practical wartime machinery of rehabilitation, and the senior RAF circle of Portal himself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5337\" data-end=\"5826\"\u003eCondition is very good for a handmade wartime album. The binding is attractive and sound, with light wear to spine, corners and boards. Internally there is age-toning, minor marking, hinge wear and handling, but the mounted photographs, manuscript pages and signatures remain strong. The two loose typed programme sheets are folded, toned and creased with minor edge wear, but they are exceptionally important survivals, giving a daily record of Marchwood’s social and rehabilitative life.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"PORTAL, Lady.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53110516351243,"sku":null,"price":700.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260512_065614203_iOS.jpg?v=1778581546"},{"product_id":"prince-philip-signed-battle-of-britain-roll-of-honour-one-of-80","title":"Prince Philip Signed Battle of Britain Roll of Honour - One of 80","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"190\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGLEAVE, Group Captain Tom, C.B.E., and F. E. Dymond, compilers. \u003cem data-start=\"64\" data-end=\"160\"\u003eThey Fell in the Battle: A Roll of Honour of The Battle of Britain, 10 July - 31 October 1940.\u003c\/em\u003e Royal Air Force Museum, 1980.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"192\" data-end=\"565\"\u003eA beautifully produced large-format Battle of Britain memorial volume, measuring approximately 40cm by 28cm, issued by the Royal Air Force Museum for the Battle’s 40th anniversary. One of only 80 copies for distribution, this is copy number 2 of 15 presentation copies, signed beneath the foreword by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, as Marshal of the Royal Air Force.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"567\" data-end=\"1022\"\u003eThe book commemorates the 435 pilots and 63 crew members of the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm who lost their lives while engaged in operational flying duties controlled by Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain. Each name is printed with rank, decoration where applicable, and squadron, turning Churchill’s famous phrase - “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few” - into a solemn roll of individual sacrifice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1024\" data-end=\"1635\"\u003eThe compilation has particular force because one of its compilers, Group Captain Tom Gleave, wrote from within the history he was helping to preserve. Gleave had flown in the Battle of Britain himself and was shot down in August 1940, suffering severe burns before undergoing treatment under Sir Archibald McIndoe at East Grinstead. He later became closely associated with the Guinea Pig Club and with the remembrance of Fighter Command. In this volume, therefore, the roll of the fallen was compiled not by a distant chronicler, but by a surviving Battle of Britain airman honouring the men who did not return.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1637\" data-end=\"1957\"\u003eA superb private-press production: printed by Will Carter at the Rampant Lions Press, Cambridge, on Arches vellum mould-made paper, and bound by V. T. Morrell of Covent Garden in specially dyed goatskin, with gilt spine lettering, raised bands, gilt rules and gilt cross to the upper board. Preserved in its fitted case.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1959\" data-end=\"2195\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eAn exceptionally rare and dignified copy in excellent condition, with clean contents, bright gilt, crisp paper, a fine binding, and only the lightest signs of handling. From the Portal family, acquired by them after Lord Portal’s death.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"GLEAVE, Group Captain Tom","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53110530539787,"sku":null,"price":1650.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260512_072544205_iOS.jpg?v=1778582384"},{"product_id":"the-rcaf-overseas-inscribed-by-air-marshal-leckie-to-air-marshal-lord-portal","title":"The RCAF Overseas - Inscribed by Air Marshal Leckie to Air Marshal Lord Portal","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"141\" data-end=\"255\"\u003eLECKIE, Air Marshal Robert. \u003cem data-start=\"169\" data-end=\"215\"\u003eThe R.C.A.F. Overseas: The First Four Years.\u003c\/em\u003e Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1944.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"257\" data-end=\"639\"\u003eFirst edition, first impression. Original blue cloth, in the striking pictorial dust jacket, inscribed on the front free endpaper by Air Marshal Robert Leckie: \u003cstrong\u003e“Dear Peter, Hope you may enjoy reading this little book. Robert Leckie.”\u003c\/strong\u003e “Peter” was the familiar name of Charles Portal, later Viscount Portal of Hungerford, wartime Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Air Force.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"641\" data-end=\"1475\"\u003eA superb wartime association copy, linking the two senior air chiefs of Britain and Canada at the height of the Allied air war. Leckie was one of the great Commonwealth airmen: Scottish-born, Canadian-raised, a First World War flying-boat pilot in the Royal Naval Air Service, later decorated with the DSO, DSC and DFC, and remembered as one of Canada’s “Zeppelin killers” after helping bring down two German airships. In the Second World War he became one of the architects of Commonwealth air power, returning to Canada in 1940 to organise the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, the immense scheme that trained more than 130,000 aircrew from 11 countries. He transferred to the RCAF in 1942 and became Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1944, serving until 1947. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1477\" data-end=\"2084\"\u003ePortal, meanwhile, had become Chief of the Air Staff of the RAF in October 1940, remaining at the summit of British air strategy throughout the war. The inscription is therefore far more than courteous: this is the story of the RCAF overseas, given by the head of the RCAF to the head of the RAF. The book records the first four years of Canadian air power abroad, from training and Atlantic patrols to bomber, fighter, coastal and army co-operation operations. The dust jacket calls it Canada’s epic of the air, while the copyright page states that royalties were to accrue to the RCAF Benevolent Fund.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2086\" data-end=\"2316\"\u003eA very good copy, internally clean and well preserved. The dust jacket is bright and attractive, with light rubbing, toning, edge wear, small chips and marks, but remains exceptionally appealing. From Portal’s personal collection.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"LECKIE, Air Marshal Robert.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53111472292107,"sku":null,"price":1250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/files\/20260512_073234654_iOS.jpg?v=1778597145"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0794\/7848\/9355\/collections\/20250312_104402807_iOS_b9f7bec1-6ff5-47dd-8625-48bc6b8fd5c3.jpg?v=1742574866","url":"https:\/\/www.archbooks.co.uk\/collections\/signed.oembed?page=4","provider":"Arch Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}