WW1 / WW2 / 20th Century

Rare, Complete and Original, Triumph Magazine Portfolio of Flying

Original 1930's issue. Softcover, in exceellent condition, about 3.5 x 5.25 inches but folds out to about 14 x 5.25 inches, folds out to 4 panels with each panel have two small booklets (about 3 x 2 inches each), each booklet contains 7 small b&w photos or illustrations, the booklets are as follows: Queer Aircraft ( glider plane; Westland-Hill Pterodactyl 3 seater; Northrop Beta monoplane; Focke Wulf; Cierva autogiro; seaplane; mono-spar 3 seater ), ---All in a Days Flying ( iceberg patrol; aerial mountie gets his man; stemming the stampede; answering an SOS; Air Mail; the flying shop (delivering goods to natives); rescuing stranded mountaineers ) ---Trail Blazers of the Air ( Charles Lindbergh; Richard Byrd; J A Mollison; Charles Kingsford-Smith; Bert Hinkler; Amy Johnson; Alan Cobham ) ---Stunting in Space ( wing walkers, acrobats, dare devils; etc ) ---War Hawks ( a zeppelin hunter; machine gunning the artillery; dog fight; British blimp bombs a submarine; destroying an observation balloon; etc) ---Great Gas Bags ( the Graf zeppelin; Picard's Stratosphere balloon; USS Akron; jumping balloon; Spanish observation balloon; American airship moored; a plane carrying airship ) ----Guardians of the Empire's Airways ( fighter taking off from aircraft carrier Furious; 20 ton RAF monoplane; Blackburn Napier torpedo plane; desert patrol; loading a bomber; getting an RAF searchlight ready; catapulting a plane from a submarine ) ---Planes of all Nations ( Belgian fighter; british 38 seaterand Puss Moth; French Paris to London liner; Italian S.55 flying boat; Junker; Swiss Dornier Do-X; American military transport plane ),  read more

Code: 18200

An Edwardian West Yorkshire Regt. Large Helmet Plate

World War I saw numerous battalions of The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment) serving at Neuve-Chappelle, Loos, the Somme, Passchendaele, Ypres, Marne, Arras, Cambrai and Gallipoli. At its peak The West Yorkshire Regiment numbered 37 battalions, 66 Battle Honours were bestowed and four Victoria Crosses were awarded.

The four TF battalions formed the West Yorkshire Brigade, which mobilised as 146 Brigade, 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division on the outbreak of World War I and served in France 1915?18. They raised duplicate battalions (2/5th, 2/6th, 2/7th, 2/8th) that constituted 185 Bde in 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division, which also served in France 1917?18. In 1915 they formed further reserve battalions (3/5th, 3/6th, 3/7th, 3/8th) Battle honours in WW1 The Great War [31 battalions]: Aisne 1914 '18, Armenti?res 1914, Neuve Chapelle, Aubers, Hooge 1915, Loos, Somme 1916 '18, Albert 1916 '18, Bazentin, Pozi?res, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Thiepval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916, Arras 1917 '18, Scarpe 1917 '18, Bullecourt, Hill 70, Messines 1917 '18, Ypres 1917 '18, Pilckem, Langemarck 1917, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 '18, St. Quentin, Rosi?res, Villers Bretonneux, Lys, Hazebrouck, Bailleul, Kemmel, Marne 1918, Tardenois, Amiens, Bapaume 1918, Drocourt-Qu?ant, Hindenburg Line, Havrincourt, ?p?hy, Canal du Nord, Selle, Valenciennes, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18, Piave, Vittorio Veneto, Italy 1917-18, Suvla, Landing at Suvla, Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli 1915, Egypt 1915-16  read more

Code: 19251

A Pair of WW2 Gas Shield Eye Protectors, Afrika Korps Dessert Campaign Souvenirs, 'Rommel' Type

Made for the British forces in the earliest part of the war, initially as gas protectors, but actually soon realised to be far better as sand storm eye protection, made of an early form of clear celluloid with elastic.

Used to great effect by our so-called Desert Rats in North Africa, but many were captured in the early part of the war in Afrika by the German forces, and re-issued and used by them. In fact Rommel used the very same protectors for that purpose as one can see from the numerous photos of Rommel taken in Africa.

Part of a collection of Afrika Korps campaign souvenirs, including the tinted celluoid goggle type, and a complete pack of goggles, in all original packing, very rare to survive complete packet and contents  read more

Code: 19025

An R.101 Airship Catastrophe Crash Memorial Service Card

On October 5, 1930, the British airship R.101 crashed on a hill in Beauvais, France. The impact was gentle and survivable but the ship was inflated with hydrogen, and the resulting fire incinerated 46 of the passengers and crew. Two additional crew members died of their injuries soon after. The ship had never been flown at full speed, or on all engines, or in bad weather. But on October 4, 1930, the ship was dispatched to fly on all engines into a known storm, at a time of year known for bad weather, despite the recommendation of airship officers and meteorology experts.

After struggling to maintain altitude over England and the Channel the ship crossed into France, where rain and wind damaged the unrepaired fabric at the nose of the ship and broke open gas bags in the bow, releasing the ship?s lifting gas. The overloaded and under-ballasted ship settled into a hillside in northern France and moments later the ship?s hydrogen erupted into flame. Calcium flares in the control car may have ignited, activated by exposure to water, but whatever the source of ignition, the fire destroyed the ship in minutes and killed most of those onboard, including Lord Thomson.  read more

Code: 20424

1928 Graf Zeppelin Plaque of the LZ127 Graf Zeppelin. By Heinrich & Co.

A Rare 1928 Graf Zeppelin Porcelain Wall Plaque
Depicting the LZ127 Graf Zeppelin. By Heinrich and Co. Inscribed on the reverse Forrngebung Fachoberiehrer, W-Veit Decoration Facheihrer Otto Keitel, Entwurf begutachtet una genehmigt von der Luftshiffbau Zeppelin Gmbh Friedrichshafen 1928, Ges Geschutzt -- 9.75in. (25cm.) diameter
The LZ-127, Graf Zeppelin, was arguably the most important zeppelin ever, the airship that put post WW I German aviation back on the map. Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin inaugurated German lighter-than-air aviation at the turn of the 20th Century. His zeppelins caught the German public?s imagination, and they became extremely popular. During WW I, his zeppelins flew for both the Army and Navy. Once more, the zeppelins caught the German people?s imagination. Even civilians and military officers who were bombing targets, both on the continent and in England, were impressed by the giant machines. Graf von Zeppelin died in 1917, and his company, which passed to Hugo Eckner?s management, faced difficult times in post WW I Germany. As a part of Germany?s war reparations, the Zeppelin Company built and delivered the LZ-126 (eventually renamed the U.S.S. Los Angeles) to the U.S. Navy in 1924. Eckner personally commanded the LZ-126 on the flight to the U.S. The engendered excitement allowed the company to build the LZ-127, eventually known as the "Graf Zeppelin." It was placed in service in 1928.
The Graf Zeppelin remained in service from September 1928 until a month after the Hindenburg exploded in New Jersey in May 1937. During this time, the "Graf Zeppelin" flew almost six hundred flights and covered more than one million miles. With the destruction of the "Hindenburg," the zeppelin era sadly came to an end. During her nine years of flight, the LZ-127 circled the globe, flying from Europe to the USA and on to Asia. She even had numerous voyages to South America. It was travel on a grand scale for less-than-thirty lucky people at a time. A crew of about twenty-four served the passengers. Trips from Germany to the U.S. were much faster than any other vessel of the time. Life aboard the "Graf Zeppelin" was very gracious.  read more

Code: 22597

A Very Rare Long Distance Flight Medal, Major von Parseval 1909

GERMANY. Medals by Karl Goetz. Silver medal 1909.. On the major's long-distance airship trips, e.g. D. August of Parseval. Half-length portrait to the left. rev. Eagle with outstretched wings on airship. by K.Goetz . Bayer Huptmunzamt Feinsilber.

Designed by world renown medalist Karl Goetz [1875 - 1950]
Very Rare silver medal, for the flight of 12th to 19th October, 1909. Long-distance voyages of the Parseval airships. Half-length portrait of the airship designer A. Parseval to the left / eagle stands with outstretched wings on the bow of the airship, below water surface, above right inscription. Hallmark: feinsilber BAYER. MAIN MINT OFFICE. it was awarded in two grades silver and bronze, this, the silver is an incredibly rare antique aviation medal from the earliest days of airships. August von Parseval (5 February 1861, in Frankenthal (Pfalz) – 22 February 1942, in Berlin) was a German airship designer.

As a boy, Von Parseval attended the Royal Bavarian Pagenkorps in Munich from 1873 to 1878, where he took the Fähnrichexamen (cadet exams). He then joined the Royal Bavarian 3rd Infantry Regiment Prinz Carl von Bayern. An autodidact, he busied himself with the problems of aeronautics. In the garrison town of Augsburg he came into contact with August Riedinger and also came to know his later partner Rudolf Hans Bartsch von Sigsfeld, with whom he developed Drachenballons: balloons used by the military for observation.

In 1901 Parseval and Sigsfeld began building a dirigible airship. After Sigsfeld's death during a free balloon landing in 1902, the work was interrupted until 1905.

By 1905, thanks to improvements in motor design, an appropriate engine was now available. His designs were licensed to the British Vickers company. Up to the end of the First World War, 22 Parseval airships (both non-rigid (blimps) and semi-rigid (with keels)) were built. In the late twenties and early thirties, four more semi-rigid airships were built in accordance with the "Parseval-Naatz principle".  read more

Code: 24155

An Iconic Example of Now Highly Collectable Military Artwork of WW1. German Artillery Shell Trench Art Vases Dated August 1917

In need of tender hand polishing that would reveal superb results. 9 inches high
Trench art objects are holders of soldiers’ memories and reminders of the conflict they faced. Made out of recycled war refuse such as shell casings, spent bullets or whatever came to hand, they open a window to the past. They tell us things like where soldiers went and what their surroundings were like. They also give hints about soldiers’ thoughts and actions. Something as simple and functional as a matchbox cover can provide a map of a soldier’s movements while other, more decorative examples, show a desire to find and create beauty, to camouflage war in art
Trench art can be made of any number of things. Many objects were made out of the scraps created by war. This included ammunition shell cases, bullet casings, shrapnel, and pieces of destroyed buildings or downed planes. These materials would all have been readily available in the war zones to soldiers, their prisoners of war and to civilians still in the area. Some objects appear to have little to do with the war full stop. Turkish prisoners of war started a bustling business in objects made of glass beads which commemorated the war.  read more

Code: 16709

A Very Fine Quality Meissen Porcelain Round the World Medal

A rare and most desireable medal a most fine collectors piece 1929 Graf Zeppelin World Flight Medal. White bisque porcelain, and gilt 48mm.
Obv. Airship over Eastern
Hemisphere globe, GRAF ZEPPELIN WELT
RUNDFLUG . Rev. Airship over Western Hemisphere globe, FRIEDRICHSHAFEN. TOKIO. LOS ANGELES. LAKEHURST . A classic Zeppelin
issue made by the State Porcelain Factory of Meissen, mintmark crossed swords. The tour began in Friedrichshafen, Germany, where the Graf Zeppelin was built, and continued on to Tokyo, Los Angeles, and Lakehurst, NJ (where her sister ship, the Hindenburg, exploded in May 1937) before returning to Germany.  read more

Code: 20959

Rare German Zeppelin Aerospace Medal 1930 1st South America Brazil flight

German Aerospace medal. Silver Medal 1930 (O. Gl?ckler) First South American cruise of "LZ 127". Head of Dr. H. Eckener left / airship across the Atlantic between Europe and South America. Edge hallmark: PREUSS.STAATSMiNZE.SILBER 900 FINE. 36.2 mm, 24.8 g, small edge error, excellent overall.

LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin (Deutsches Luftschiff Zeppelin 127) was a German passenger-carrying, hydrogen-filled rigid airship that flew from 1928 to 1937. It offered the first commercial transatlantic passenger flight service. Named after the German airship pioneer Ferdinand von Zeppelin, a count (Graf) in the German nobility, it was conceived and operated by Dr. Hugo Eckener, the chairman of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin.

Graf Zeppelin made 590 flights totalling almost 1.7 million kilometres (over 1 million miles). It was operated by a crew of 36, and could carry 24 passengers. It was the longest and largest airship in the world when it was built. It made the first circumnavigation of the world by airship, and the first nonstop crossing of the Pacific Ocean by air; its range was enhanced by its use of Blau gas as a fuel. It was built using funds raised by public subscription and from the German government, and its operating costs were offset by the sale of special postage stamps to collectors, the support of the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, and cargo and passenger receipts.

After several long flights between 1928 and 1932, including one to the Arctic, Graf Zeppelin provided a commercial passenger and mail service between Germany and Brazil for five years. When the Nazi Party came to power, they used it as a propaganda tool. It was withdrawn from service after the Hindenburg disaster in 1937, and scrapped for military aircraft production in 1940.  read more

Code: 22349

An Intriguing Zeppelin Warfare Interest Original Bespoke Portrait Photo and Coloured Print of an Imperial German Rifleman in WW1 From The Photographic Wolf Studio of Ulm

A personal portrait photo of a German WW1 rifleman that has been onlaid onto the patented print, of three infantrymen, and him centre from his regiment, the 2nd Jager Battalion Aschaffenberg, Jager [rifleman] Hauck of the Bavarian Infantry in a wooded scene, and his name inscribed below. They were unique patented items that were created for the family members of the soldier for posterity. Photographic studio, A.Wolf of Ulm. 420mm x 525mm. Mounted and unframed. Would look stunning nicely reframed . One of two stunning and rare matching examples of original Great War period Imperial German Zeppelin and infantry warfare prints we acquired that we are selling separately  read more

Code: 19889