Aviation Magazine Collection

As I have noted before on this blog I am organizing a rather large collection of aviation magazines.  This weekend I added to it with several more boxes!  Like a truck full of boxes!  It is one of those aviation collectables that can be very focused or very broad.  Which titles do I focus on?  Which years do I keep?  When boxes and boxes are passed on to me I know I wont keep ALL of them even though I may want to!  Each box may have a few keepers or be full of keepers. The 1940s SKYWAYS were added to the keeper box along with some 1940s and 1950s FLYING and some of the first editions of AIR CLASSICs.  So... I can see myself in a few weeks sitting by the wood stove in the living room with a pile of magazines to glean more aviation history from.  Anyone looking for some rare magazines?  I might just have a copy!

My list of winter projects is now growing... update web sites... sort magazines... post a few items on eBay... oh and polish the Cessna while it is not 100 deg. outside!

Beautiful Disaster

Spring is showing up here in Texas.  Yard work has begun.  I already did a little mowing around the house and planted a few new rose bushes.  Another Spring project that is receiving some attention is my garage.  This garage has been on the family property since we bought the place back in the mid-1980's and has stored boats, VW Bugs, and construction materials (for two houses!).  Back in 1991 I fixed up this garage to be my office and workshop while I built my new house.  When I moved in to the finished house in 1999 the garage became my sorting room for my aviation book and magazine collection.  Several good friends have passed on their beloved aviation magazine collections to me.  Did they get the better end of the deal or did I?  This beautiful disaster has been quite the project.  Some days I am excited to go sort and organize in the garage... other days I just want to stick my head in and then go back into the house.  This past year I have worked in short bursts and am finally on the down hill stretch (even though it might not look like it in the picture above!).  The shelves are ready for my collection.  Boxes have been packed up with magazines that will go to happy collectors.  The rarest of the collection will be archived or offered up for sale.  A good number of modern day issues will be sent out for recycle.  I hate to send them away but.... I have to prioritize.  Vintage issues will take the top spots on the shelf.  Tonight I found the airshow program from my first Warbird arishow (Denton, Texas CAF Airshow!) and also found a 1912 Popular Mechanics with some wild looking aircraft inside.  My issues of American Airmen (the AAA/APM publication) has already been sorted and given a spot of the shelf!  As I sort I will post here some of my prized issues.  Well... time to go wash the dust off my hands and set a stack of magazines on the nightstand for viewing later.

Spartan Picture - Magazine Find

In sorting through some of my magazine collection I found a 1963 issue of AIR PROGRESS.  Inside was a 10 page photo collection of "Outstanding Antiques." The Antique Airplane Association is mentioned on the title page with the photographers listed as Don Downie and Howard Levy. Spartan Executive N46426 is one of the aircraft featured in the spread. I did a quick check of my Spartan listing and found this to be a photo of serial number 31 (NC17665) that now makes its home in California. It is always fun to spot photos of Spartans in paint schemes I have never seen before. Great... another photo for the Spartan collection!

On the subject of Spartans... check out the progress Mr. Hartness is making on the restoration of his Spartan Executive, NC13PH, serial number 13.  See the photo gallery here.