I promised something more cheerful today, so here we are. Today’s pulp cover is the unarguably excellent ‘Zeppelin Stories’, this issue featuring ‘The Gorilla of the Gas Bags’ by Gil Brewer. With a cover like that, you know it’s going to be all good stuff inside, right? A bit of background from the website ‘The…
Tag: Aerostat
It’s 5 miles Down!
Today a cover for the Airboy pulp magazine. Airships, busty villains, personal escape jets and a five mile drop into the ocean! What more could one want? Well obviously the garish colours, and to read the rest of what happens next. You’re in luck. Image – and the rest of the comic here. James Kightly,…
Atlantic Air Ship or Flying Boat?
Today’s Poster is for three German inter-war companies promoting their Europe – South America service. With a Zeppelin type airship making a return trip, and a Dornier Do 18 flying boat on the way out, airmail post is offered in just three days. Deutsche Lufthanda, Symdicato Condor LTDA and Deutsche Zepplein Reederei are the three…
Gordon Bennett – Balloons!
Today’s Poster is a visually startling one, for certain. And for something some might even have difficulty believing in – balloon racing. Designed by Bühler Fritz for the 1932 ‘Gordon Bennett Wettfliegen’, or Gordon Bennett Cup. As the Wikipedia page says: ‘Referred to as the “Blue Ribbon” of aeronautics, the first race started from Paris,…
Fearsome Fiery FEE
An exciting magazine cover today. I picked it because it’s rare to see any major feature of a Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2b (the ‘Fee’) but it’s fun for other reasons too. The artwork is by Vic Prezio for Air War Stories No. 3, published by Dell, from March – May 1965. In 1965 there were…
Airship Tension
Two artworks showing the experience of operating airships in the Great War, one from the German side, the other from the British. John Lavery’s, ‘A Convoy, North Sea, 1918’ gives a good feel of the vertiginous experience of being suspended between sea and sky while providing an anti-U-Boat patrol over a merchant ship convoy. While…
Onkel Zepp
Today’s Poster. A great cartoon portrait of a man who essentially gave his name to the class of aircraft, the rigid airship: Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin. Here it’s a poster for the ‘Internationale Luftschiffahrt Ausstellung’ (International Airship Exhibition) at Frankfurt am Main in 1909, when the military use of airships was a threat of the…
Great G-8
An action packed cover from the American pulp magazine G-8 and his Battle Aces. I honestly doubt the contents can live up to the promise of the picture! James Kightly, Vintage Aero Writer. Image found low-res on the internet.
A Year of Aviation Illustration & Art 