Bookvica

[AVIATION] Brat’ia Rait = The boys’ life of the Wright brothers [i.e. The Wright Brothers]

Charnley, M.

Moscow: Posrednik, 1933. Item #1463

102, [2] pp.: ill. 22x15 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Spine chipped with small tears, covers slightly soiled, few minor stains on pages, tiny hole of p. 49-50, otherwise very good and clean.

First Russian edition. One of 10 400 copies. Rare. Translation was undertaken by E.and O. Gorbunov.
Cover design features a woodcut composition by artist P. Riabov. He created a two-color sequence of butterfly, swallow, ‘flying man’ Otto Lilienthal performing his glider, falcon and Wright’s airplane above all of them. The back cover shows this sequence in the past - without humans, colored in black only. A line with place and date of publishing is interrupted by a paper toy, flying propeller. The edition is illustrated with photographs and schemes.
By the 1930s, the rapturous thrill of the “iron bird” was gone, an airplane became a piece of contemporary reality. Human flight as a miracle remained only in children’s books while the rest editions presented it rather as achievement and success of mankind. Soviet propaganda of aviation was increased and the first parade of the air fleet was held over Khodynka field in summer of 1933.

Worldcat doesn’t track this edition.

Price: $400.00