The Cody Flyer [ cover title ].

by AVIATION TRADE CATALOGUE

£800 · Offered by Henry Sotheran Ltd

an incunable of british aviation AVIATION TRADE CATALOGUE. The Cody Flyer [ cover title ]. Aldershot: Gale and Polden. [1912]. 4to. Original red card wrappers, lettered in gilt, original printed envelope preserved; pp. 11, [1], highly illustrated after photographs and drawings, printed on yellow, blue and white coated paper; wire-stitching removed and replaced with new ties, traces of oxidation along gutters, final page with a little offsetting from red wrappers; a rare survival with the original printed envelope, this a little spotted. Extremely rare trade catalogue for the Cody mono- and biplanes, as well as a manned war kite. 'Samuel Franklin Cowdery was born in 1867, in Davenport, Iowa, was a Wild West showman and early pioneer of manned flight. He changed his name to Cody at age 21 when he was part of a touring Wild West show (not to be confused with that of Buffalo Bill Cody). He is most famous for his work on the large kites known as Cody War-Kites, that were used by the British in World War I as a smaller alternative to balloons for artillery spotting. Financed by his Wild West shows, Cody's unusual interest in manned kites advanced significantly when he enlarged upon Lawrence Hargrave's double-cell box kite to increase its lifting power, especially by adding wings on either side. He patented his design in 1901, and it became known as the Cody kite. Cody eventually managed to interest the British Army in his kites. In 1906, he was appointed Chief Instructor of Kiting

• Binding: Hardcover

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