PUGET René -Livre Rare Book
(AVIATION)Biblio.com
Archive of Designs Photos and Other Ephemera of Aviation Expert Paul Karnow.
151975243V.p.: N.p. 1915-1948. Paul Karnow was a designer for the US Naval Aircraft Modification Unit in Johnsville PA during the war and following years in the 1940s having Confidential Status. As a child he developed a passion for aircraft and became a respected and noted designer and builder of model airplanes. Actually even though he designed a missile for the U. S. Government he is best remembered for his mastery of model airplane designs. These binders provide an insight from his birth and growth in this field via photos original and photocopy drawings and blueprints new articles and letters plus three aeronautics lapel pinsThe archive consists of five very meticulously ordered binders. They start from his birth and go through to late 40s. They are all 9 1/2 x 12 inches and all material therein is sleeved. When needed an item is annotated by Karnow who had such good penmanship he won a "Penmanship Award" in high school; included herein in extremely clear lettering. Four of the binders are black faux morocco and the fifth is blue. All the binders have spine labels under mylar. All in very good condition.The first binder is labeled- P. Karnow Album 1915-1937. It opens with a photocopy of his Russian birth certificate and right after that is the original substituted Certificate of Birth issued by the State of Pennsylvania as the Russian one was of no use stating he was born on 12/06/1915 and listing his father's name as John Turofsky. And behind that is a photocopy of the decree issued in 1945 allowing him to officially change his name from Paul Turofsky to Paul Karnow the Cold War was in full effect and he worked at times for the government so this was an understandable undertaking. But they must have passed themselves of as Karnows for decades for in each graduating class list he is called Paul Karnow not Turofsky. It is followed by a few original photographs of the family in Russia. The next photograph is one of the whole family surrounding a infant sibling's coffin. Paul Karnow appears to be about ten years old. They must have been in the U. S. by then as the banner on the casket reads "Our Dear Baby" it is an open casket and one can see the deceased infant. Then follows many dozens of original photographs dealing with his homes friends and schools. Madison Elementary School in Philadelphia then to Lawrence Massachusetts then to Penn Treat Junior High School back in Philly and finally graduation from Northeast High School includes a copy of his diploma. The second half of the album is concerned with his personal life; kayaking visiting Russian Orthodox churches sailing partying and most of all aviation. There is one photo entitled "Photos taken from Col. Clarence Chamberlin's Curtiss Condor biplane flying from Boulevard Airport" so it would seem he already had his pilot's license. It ends with photographs of a friend's wedding and later his both in 1937. The extreme details exhibited are rather astounding. E.g.; He has the names of all his graduating classmates at all his schools and one with a overlay on which the people are numbered and on top the numbers are given names. The next four volumes are predominantly about his occupation and avocation; flight. The next binder has a simple title and is composed almost entirely of designs for model planes: Drawings by Payl Karnow Published in Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Saturday Aviation page 1932 TO 1935. In manuscript in the first leaf we can read- Age 16 yrs Mach 26 1932. Printed on rectos only. the first 69 leaves are construction designs and the remaining approx 60 leaves bear newspaper stories about Karno's model aircraft racing. He won a good many times. At the end of this section are photocopies of his manuscript thoughts on flight in general and model airplanes in particular. One of the final photocopies is a page from a notebook he kept and below it he has typed "Reproduced from Notebook on Aeronautics written by Paul Karnow at age 12." A rather precocious and obsessive individual. Writing in the third person connotes to this cataloger that he had plans for a publication of all this material. There is another volume that duplicates all of this one except the articles are actually clipped from the newspapers rather than photocopied.In the blue volume we have a complete history of all the model and occasionally actual planes that he designed. There are over thirty 8 x 10 original photographs and numerous blueprints. Each plane has a tab separating it from the other; XLRA 1941; XLRA Twin 1942; Zebra June 1944; Duckling 1944 etc. There are some tabs with no contents.The final binder concerns his work with the U. S. Naval Aircraft Modification Unit at Johnsville Pennsylvania. He he was likely a civilian employee although with Confidential status. Here he work with others on the proposed Growler-Jet guided missile. From the 5th page; -"The Growler-Jet packs a terrific wallop. The extreme power available. particularly in short bursts is second only to atomic power. It however. exhibits none of the radio-activity which makes atomic application so difficult . Exhaust gases are said to be highly ionized but radio interference is not expected. It is known officially as the CA-1 Ascender." Aside from the text it also contains four original photographs and two hand-drawn designs. The whole binder is entitled "CONFIDENTIAL Date 12-17-46 Report No. 8 CAN-! "Ascender" Preliminary Analysis." One suspects that Karnow's participation in this project was to build a model of the missile and indeed there is a photograph of a model of it. The project was eventually abandoned by the Navy.The obsessive nature of these binders is rather astounding and a bit disturbing but it does provide a very intimate look into the life of an immigrant. From his childhood in the poorer parts of Philadelphia through his younger years and into his time with the U.S. Navy we are given everything neatly arranged and annotated. An impressive gathering.abaa-ny-2022 N.p. unknown
Nat DesMarais Rare Books, ABAA · États-Unis500,00 $US≈ 423,05 €
