The Arthur Ronnie Collection: Books & Autogaphs

Auction Details

Blacksparrow Auctions is pleased to present The Arthur Ronnie Collection: Books and Autographs, to be held on Sunday, February 10, 2013, at 11am PST. James Gray Gallery at Bergamot Station Art Center in Santa Monica, CA will host the live auction. Public preview is available from February 4 to 9, also at James Gray Gallery.

This is an unprecedented selection of over 200 lots assembled by an individual collector who personally interviewed many of the authors and obtained autographs for over 70 years throughout his career as a newspaper reporter and as a publicist in the entertainment field. The collection features presidents, explorers, aviation, and Hollywood entertainment. A few of the many highlights include:

• Under the North Pole: The Wilkins-Ellsworth Submarine Expedition, Lincoln Ellsworth’s copy
• 20 hrs. 40 min. Our Flight in the Friendship. The American Girl, First Across the Atlantic by Air, Tells Her Story, Amelia Earhart’s personal copy with piece of fabric from the Friendship
• The Fun of It: Random Records of My Own Flying and of Women in Aviation, Amelia Earhart’s copy with her bookplate and signature, as well as the signatures of other early aviatrixes
• The Spirit of St. Louis, Presentation Edition signed by Charles A. Lindbergh, T. Claude Ryan, Otto W. Timm, and Bud Gurney
• WE. The Famous Flier’s Own Story of his Life and his Transatlantic flight, together with his views on the future of Aviation, Signed Limited Edition, additionally signed by T. Claude Ryan, Otto W. Timm, and Bud Gurney
• Memoirs by Harry S. Truman, both volumes inscribed
• The White House Years: Waging Peace, 1956-1961, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Signed Limited Edition
• Listen! The Wind and North to the Orient, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, each book signed by Anne Morrow Lindbergh and Charles Lindbergh

Complementing the signed books is a group of signed color lithographs, including a who’s who of early and pioneer aviators such as Charles Taylor, Grover Loening, Douglas Campbell, William Bishop, Gianni Caproni, Richard E. Byrd, A.V. Roe, Ruth Law, Ernest Hall, Jacqueline Cochran, Charles Lindbergh, Katherine Stinson, Henri Farman, and many more.

The featured item of the sale is a 2-volume set of The Lafayette Flying Corps (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1920, First Edition). A presentation copy, signed and inscribed by James N. Hall and Charles Bernard Nordhoff to Dr. Edmund Gros, “For Doctor Gros, with warm regards, James N. Hall, Chas. Nordhoff, Tahiti, Oct. 14, 1927.” It is additionally signed by five surviving members of the Corps who signed on their respective biographical pages: Henry Batchelor (page 113), Edward Hinkle (page 267), Charles Kinsolving (page 301), William Wellman (movie director, page 483), and Herman Whitmore (page 487). Slipcase and dust jackets intact.

Dr. Gros was an American doctor in Paris who was instrumental in organizing the Lafayette Escadrille. Young men from neutral America during World War I were recruited to come to France and fly in the Escadrille in combat against the Germans. When America entered the war, the Lafayette Escadrille became the Lafayette Flying Corps. This is a cornerstone of any serious aviation collection. It is rare to find the books in such fine condition, and especially desirable with the signatures of Hall, Nordhoff, and Flying Corps members.

Interested bidders will be able to bid live in-person, by telephone, via absentee, and on the Internet as facilitated by iCollector. A print catalog will be available for purchase at blacksparrowauctions.com.
Items are as is. Please call us at (323) 250-3980 or email us at blacksparrow@haxbee.com for condition reports or any general inquiry.
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LANCHBERY, Edward - A. V. Roe: A Biography of Sir Alliott Verdon-Roe, Pioneer of British Aviation161 - LANCHBERY, Edward - A. V. Roe: A Biography of Sir Alliott Verdon-Roe, Pioneer of British Aviation
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With a Foreword by Neville Duke. The Bodley Head, London, 1956. First Edition. Octavo (8 1/8 X 5 3/8 in., 307 X 137 mm). 140 pages. Dark blue cloth, s
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Start Price : 100.00 | Estimate : 100.00 - 200.00
 
 
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LAWRENCE, John - Bernt Balchen: Viking of the Air162 - LAWRENCE, John - Bernt Balchen: Viking of the Air
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Brewer, Warren, & Putnam, New York, 1931. First Edition. Octavo (8 1/8 X 5 ½ in., 205 X 140 mm). 165 pages. Red cloth, blocked in black. Ve...
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Start Price : 100.00 | Estimate : 100.00 - 200.00
 
 
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LAWSON, Ted W. - Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo163 - LAWSON, Ted W. - Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
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Edited by Robert Considine. Random House, New York, (1943). First Edition, first printing. Octavo (7 ½ X 5 ¼ in., 192 X 135 mm). 221 pages...
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Estimate : 300.00 - 500.00
Sold to k*********y for (250.00 + 45.00BP) = 295.00
 
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LAY, JR., Beirne - I Wanted Wings, signed by Ray Milland, William Holden, Constance Moore164 - LAY, JR., Beirne - I Wanted Wings, signed by Ray Milland, William Holden, Constance Moore
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Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York, (1937). Octavo (8 3/8 X 5 7/8 in., 210 X 147 mm). 350 pages. Blue cloth, spine lettered in gilt. Very Go...
Bidding Has Concluded
Estimate : 300.00 - 500.00
Sold to k*********y for (250.00 + 45.00BP) = 295.00
 
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LEVIER, Tony - Pilot165 - LEVIER, Tony - Pilot
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Harper & Brothers, Publishers, New York, (1954). First Edition. Octavo (8 ½ in. 5 7/8 in., 213 X 150 mm). 263 pages. Grey cloth covered boa...
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Start Price : 100.00 | Estimate : 100.00 - 200.00
 
 
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LINDBERGH, Anne Morrow - Listen! the Wind166 - LINDBERGH, Anne Morrow - Listen! the Wind
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Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York, (1938). First Edition. Signed by Anne Morrow Lindbergh and Charles Lindbergh on the half-title page. Octavo (8
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Start Price : 600.00 | Estimate : 800.00 - 1,200.00
 
 
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LINDBERGH, Anne Morrow - North to the Orient167 - LINDBERGH, Anne Morrow - North to the Orient
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Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York, (1935). First Edition. Signed by Anne Morrow Lindbergh and Charles Lindbergh on the half-title page. Octavo (8
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Start Price : 600.00 | Estimate : 800.00 - 1,200.00
 
 
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LINDBERGH, Charles A. - The Spirit of St. Louis168 - LINDBERGH, Charles A. - The Spirit of St. Louis
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New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1953. First Edition, first printing. Octavo (8 ½ X 5 7/8 in., 215 X 148 mm). 562 pages. Blue cloth, spine an...
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Start Price : 250.00 | Estimate : 300.00 - 500.00
 
 
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LINDBERGH, Charles A. - Spirit of St. Louis, Presentation Ed. Signed, Lindbergh, Ryan, Timm & Gurney169 - LINDBERGH, Charles A. - Spirit of St. Louis, Presentation Ed. Signed, Lindbergh, Ryan, Timm & Gurney
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LINDBERGH, Charles A. The Spirit of St. Louis, Presentation Edition signed by Charles A. Lindbergh, T. Claude Ryan, Otto W. Timm, and Bud Gurney. Ne
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Estimate : 2,000.00 - 3,000.00
Sold to d*******s for (1,600.00 + 288.00BP) = 1,888.00
 
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LINDBERGH, Charles A. - WE. Signed Limited Edition, Lindbergh, Ryan, Timm & Gurney170 - LINDBERGH, Charles A. - WE. Signed Limited Edition, Lindbergh, Ryan, Timm & Gurney
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LINDBERGH, Charles A. WE. The Famous Flier’s Own Story of his Life and his Transatlantic flight, together with his views on the future of Aviation,
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Start Price : 1,500.00 | Estimate : 2,000.00 - 3,000.00
 
 
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LOENING, Grover - Takeoff Into Greatness: How American Aviation Grew So Big So Fast171 - LOENING, Grover - Takeoff Into Greatness: How American Aviation Grew So Big So Fast
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G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, (1968). First Edition. Octavo (8 ¾ X 6 ¼ in., 222 X 158 mm). 256 pages. Pale blue cloth, spine and front bo...
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Start Price : 100.00 | Estimate : 100.00 - 200.00
 
 
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LUCAS, Laddie - Flying Colours: The Epic Story of Douglas Bader172 - LUCAS, Laddie - Flying Colours: The Epic Story of Douglas Bader
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Hutchinson & Co., Publishers Ltd, (1982). Fifth impression. Quarto (9 ½ X 6 3/8 in., 240 X 160 mm). 303 pages. Black cloth, spine lettered ...
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Start Price : 100.00 | Estimate : 100.00 - 200.00
 
 
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LUDOVICI, L, J. - The Challenging Sky: The Life of Sir Alliott Verdon-Roe173 - LUDOVICI, L, J. - The Challenging Sky: The Life of Sir Alliott Verdon-Roe
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Herbert Jenkins, London, 1956. First Edition. Octavo (8 ¾ X 5 ¾ in., 221 X 145 mm). 158 pages. Blue cloth, spine lettered in gilt. ...
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Estimate : 100.00 - 200.00
Sold to w**********k for (100.00 + 18.00BP) = 118.00
 
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MANN, Carl - Lightning in the Sky: The Story of Jimmy Doolittle174 - MANN, Carl - Lightning in the Sky: The Story of Jimmy Doolittle
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Robert M. McBride & Company, New York, (1943). First Edition. Octavo (8 ¼ X 5 ¾ in., 210 X 149 mm). 256 pages. Green cloth, spine lett...
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Start Price : 100.00 | Estimate : 100.00 - 200.00
 
 
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MARTIN, William A. P. - The Awakening of China175 - MARTIN, William A. P. - The Awakening of China
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Doubleday, Page & Company, 1907. First Edition. Illustrated with photographs. Quarto (10 3/8 X 7 3/8 in., 264 X 184 mm). 328 pages. Dark green c...
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MASON, JR., Herbert Molloy - The Lafayette Escadrille176 - MASON, JR., Herbert Molloy - The Lafayette Escadrille
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Random House, New York, (1964). First Edition. Quarto (9 5/8 X 6 5/8 in., 243 X 168 mm). Red cloth, spine lettered in gilt. Very Good. Hinges sound. P
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Start Price : 100.00 | Estimate : 100.00 - 200.00
 
 
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MCFARLAND, Marvin W.) - The Papers of Wilbur & Orville Wright177 - MCFARLAND, Marvin W.) - The Papers of Wilbur & Orville Wright
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The Papers of Wilbur & Orville Wright, including the Chanute-Wright letters and other papers of Octave Chanute. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc...
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Estimate : 200.00 - 300.00
Sold to a********o.. for (150.00 + 27.00BP) = 177.00
 
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MERRILL, James M. - Target Tokyo - The Halsey-Doolittle Raid, Signed by Doolittle & 24 Raiders178 - MERRILL, James M. - Target Tokyo - The Halsey-Doolittle Raid, Signed by Doolittle & 24 Raiders
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MERRILL, James M. Target Tokyo – The Halsey-Doolittle Raid. Signed by James H. Doolittle and 24 Doolittle Raiders. Rand McNally & Company, (1...
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Estimate : 600.00 - 800.00
Sold to k*********y for (400.00 + 72.00BP) = 472.00
 
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NICHOLS, Ruth - Wings for Life179 - NICHOLS, Ruth - Wings for Life
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J. B. Lippincott Company, (1957). First Edition. Octavo (8 1/8 X 5 5/8 in., 207 X 142 mm). 317 pages. Pale tan paper covered boards over blue cloth sp
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Start Price : 150.00 | Estimate : 200.00 - 300.00
 
 
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PLANCK, Charles E. - Women with Wings180 - PLANCK, Charles E. - Women with Wings
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Harper & Brothers Publishers, (1942). First Edition. Octavo (8 3/8 X 5 7/8 in., 212 X 148 mm). 333 pages. Blue cloth, spine stamped in black and...
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Start Price : 150.00 | Estimate : 200.00 - 300.00
 
 
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