1947, ARTHUR SZYK TITLE PAGE, LITHOGRAPH, VISUAL HISTORY OF FLIGHT 4 Stamp Album

Item Specifics

Country

United States

Stamp Format

Single

Item Description

1947, arthur szyk title page, lithograph, visual history of flight 4 stamp album

A Visual History of Airmails of the World
aka History of Flight

Title Page Lithograph by Arthur Szyk
Published by K. Bileski, Winipeg, Canada
Lithographed by Herman Jaffe, Printer, New York, NY
Image size 8" x 6-1/2"
Paper size 11-1/2x10"

This striking illumination of the Visual History of Flight was intended to serve as a title page for a collection of rare aviation and airmail stamps.

The central figure is Leonardo da Vinci. He holds a representation of his 1483 study of an aircraft invention while a state-of-the-art airplane from 1945 ascends overhead. Left and right he is framed by important episodes in the history of human flight, and he is crowned with a winged hourglass, a reference to “the wings of time.” There are also winged corners to this illumination and a winged Earth at the bottom.

To the left are various lighter-than-air crafts (balloons and dirigibles). Bottom left is the 1670 De Lana, a proposed boat-sized vessel suspended under four large copper spheres from which all the air had been removed. Lighter than air, the spheres were predicted to be capable of lifting off as an airship. The Montgolfier brothers first demonstrated their invention, the hot air balloon, in June 1783, and later that same year they put the first passenger in the air: Pilâtre de Rozier rode their hot air balloon from central Paris to the suburbs. The Giffard airship in 1852 used a steam-powered engine to rotate a large propeller. In 1909 Count Zeppelin set a record for flight time with his dirigible: he and his crew were airborne for 37 hours. And in 1926 Roald Amundsen led a team on the airship Norge over the polar ice cap between Europe and America; their expedition counts as the first verified trip of any kind to the North Pole.

On the right are important inventions in the history of airplanes and helicopters. Bottom right is Launoy’s 1784 display of a practical helicopter experiment, though it was not developed. The first successful powered flight of an aircraft was in 1848 by John Stringfellow in England. He showed that fixed (not flapping) wings were the way forward for aircraft engineering. Louis Blériot piloted his single-winged plane, the Blériot XI, across the English Channel in 1909. And in 1903, the Wright brothers made the first controlled, heavier-than-air flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Charles Lindberg famously crossed the Atlantic in flight in 1927. Igor Sikorsky’s VS-300 became America’s first practical helicopter, with the now-familiar main rotor and tail rotor design. It achieved a helicopter endurance record by staying aloft for 1 hour, 32 minutes in 1941, and he made a first successful helicopter take-off from water that year as well.

Additional Notes:
Lithograph Title Pages for Stamp Album The Visual History of Nations set, which represents the founding member countries of the United Nations, including vibrant images representing the United States of America, Canada, Poland, Great Britain, France, USSR, China, Switzerland, and Israel.

This series was commissioned in 1945 by Canadian philatelist and entrepreneur, Kasimir Bileski, with the intent on being used as frontispieces and title pages for a unique international stamp album.

Szyk completed only nine of the 60 countries, plus the Visual History of Flight, before his sudden death in 1951.

the Complete SET Consists of:

Airmails of the World - Title Page for Airmails of the World
Artist Arthur Szyk, New York Published by K. Bileski, Station B, Winnipeg, Canada Lithographed in the USA by Herman Jaffe, Printer, New York, USA Copyright 1947

Great Britain
on Back: Title Page for Great Britain
Artist Arthur Szyk Published by K. Bileski, Station B, Winnipeg, Canada Lithographed in the USA by Herman Jaffe, Printer, New York, USA Copyright 1947

France
on Back: Title Page for The Republic of France
Artist Arthur Szyk, New York Published by K. Bileski, Station B, Winnipeg, Canada Lithographed in the USA by Herman Jaffe, Printer, New York, USA Copyright 1947

The United States of America
On Back: Title Page for The United States of America
Artist - Arthur Szyk, New York Published by K. Bileski, Station B, Winnipeg, Canada Lithographed in the USA by Herman Jaffe, Printer, New York, USA Copyright 1945

U.S.S.R.
on Back: Title Page for The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Artist - Arthur Szyk, New York Published by K. Bileski, Station B, Winnipeg, Canada Lithographed in the USA by Herman Jaffe, Printer, New York, USA Copyright 1947

Canada
on Back: Title Page for The Dominion of Canada
Artist - Arthur Szyk, New York Published by K. Bileski, Station B, Winnipeg, Canada Lithographed in the USA by Herman Jaffe, Printer, New York, USA Copyright 1946

Poland
on Back: Title Page for The Republic of Poland
Artist - Arthur Szyk, New York Published by K. Bileski, Station B, Winnipeg, Canada Lithographed in the USA by Herman Jaffe, Printer, New York, USA Copyright 1946

China
on Back: Title Page for The Republic of China
Artist - Arthur Szyk, New York Published by K. Bileski, Station B, Winnipeg, Canada Lithographed in the USA by Herman Jaffe, Printer, New York, USA Copyright 1948

Israel:
On Back: Title Page for The State of Israel
Artist - Arthur Szyk, New York Published by K. Bileski, Station B, Winnipeg, Canada Lithographed in the USA by Herman Jaffe, Printer, New York, USA Copyright 1949

Switzerland:
On Back: Title Page for The Visual History of Switzerland
Artist - Arthur Szyk, New York Published by K. Bileski, Station B, Winnipeg, Canada Lithographed in the USA by Herman Jaffe, Printer, New York, USA Copyright 1949

Would You Like a Complete set of 10? - I only have 2 to offer!
Check my Hip Listings!!

Arthur Szyk was born June 16, 1894 - died September 13, 1951. Szyk was a graphic artist, book illustrator, stage designer and caricaturist. Arthur Szyk was born into a Jewish family in Lódz, in the part of Poland which was under Russian rule in the 19th century. He always regarded himself both as a Pole and a Jew. From 1921, he lived and created his works mainly in France and Poland, and in 1937 he moved to the United Kingdom. In 1940 he settled permanently in the United States, where he was granted American citizenship in 1948.

These would look great as framed art!
Great Collectible Rare / Unique GREAT GIFT OR COLLECTORS ITEM

Some slight age - at the margins and edges only. This item is in Very Fine ++ Condition.

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