{"product_id":"australian-aviator-sir-norman-brearley-with-ted-mayman-1st-edition","title":"Australian Aviator, Sir Norman Brearley (with Ted Mayman) — 1st Edition","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublication\u003c\/strong\u003e: Adelaide, Rigby Limited, 1971\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormatting\u003c\/strong\u003e: 8vo, pp. 202.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition Report\u003c\/strong\u003e: Very Good. The publisher's original dark blue cloth binding remains remarkably tight, square, and clean, with unoxidised silver lettering to the spine and exceedingly sharp corners completely devoid of the standard bumping associated with the book's weight. The text block exhibits the typical, uniform age-toning and mild dust-dulling to the top edge consistent with the paper stock of this era, yet the internal pages remain crisp, clean, and free of any previous owner inscriptions. The original, unclipped pictorial dust jacket retains its gloss and vibrant colouring. It exhibits only marginal shelf-wear, primarily presenting as slight rubbing to the extremities and very minor creasing at the spine ends, with no significant chips, tears, or fading.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCatalogue Note\u003c\/strong\u003e: This is the true first edition, first printing of Sir Norman Brearley's autobiography, bound in the publisher's primary dark blue cloth. Profusely illustrated with a suite of black-and-white photographic plates and endpaper maps documenting early flight routes, the volume serves as a significant primary source for early Commonwealth aviation history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGiven the regional publication by Rigby in Adelaide and the relatively small print run for an Antipodean aviation memoir of this period, intact first editions in their original dust jackets, particularly those avoiding the severe sun-fading typical of Australian titles from the 1970s, are increasingly uncommon on the open market.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eAustralian Aviator\u003c\/i\u003e, Sir Norman Brearley delivers a thrilling, first-hand account of his life as an engineering apprentice who rose to become one of the most consequential figures in early twentieth-century aviation. After distinguishing himself in the perilous skies of the Western Front during the First World War with the Royal Flying Corps, Brearley returned home with two war-surplus biplanes and a singular vision. He would go on to found West Australian Airways, Australia's very first commercial airline, and secure the nation's inaugural airmail contract in 1921. This vivid memoir, penned with Ted Mayman, captures both the visceral danger of early open-cockpit combat and the entrepreneurial grit required to conquer the vast, unforgiving distances of the Australian outback.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Broadhursts Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54507806425427,"sku":"4957","price":27.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/1469\/6787\/files\/20260730_235637.jpg?v=1786017635","url":"https:\/\/broadhurstsbooks.com\/products\/australian-aviator-sir-norman-brearley-with-ted-mayman-1st-edition","provider":"Broadhursts Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}