for our Sir Barnes Wallis 'Dam Busters' Collection auction to be held on Wednesday 25th of March 2026
| Lot No | Description | Est | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Handbook on H.M. Airship, Rigid No. 9. Admiralty Department 1918, 8vo., 75pp. Bound in blue cloth with debossed white text. Fading to spine and cover, minor rubbing to corners and edges of spine. Photos, diagrams and fold out coloured plates throughout. Signed B.N.Wallis to endpaper and stamped 135, pastedown with glued confidential Government statement | 200-300 |
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| 27 | MORRIS, Captain Joseph. The German Air Raids on Great Britain 1914-1918. London: Sampson Low, Mason & Co., Ltd. 8vo, 306pp. Original red cloth, gilt lettered spine. Some fading to spine and cover, minor rubbing to corners and edges of the spine. With fold out maps and illustrations. Signed B.N. Wallis | 150-200 |
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| 28 | SMITH, Charles. An Elementary Treatise on Solid Geometry. London: Macmillan and Co., Limited 1920. 12mo, 242pp. Orginal brown cloth. Spine missing, fading to covers, rubbing to corners and edges, stains to some of the inner pages. Multiple pages with pencil marks, written notes and some equations. Signed B. N. Wallis to pastedown | 150-200 |
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| 29 | PRATT H. B., Commercial Airships. London: Nelson 1920, 8vo, 235pp, Original blue cloth with gilt lettered spine, fading to spine and cover, rubbing to corners and edges of spine. Endpaper with dedication "With the author's compliment H B Pratt 11/11/20", endpaper also signed B.N. Wallis. Sir Barnes Wallis and H B Pratt worked together as young engineers on the R9 airship in 1914 | 200-300 |
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| 30 | PARK, Whyrill E. A Treatise on Airscrews. London: Chapman & Hall, Ltd. 1920. 8vo, 308pp. Original blue cloth, gilt lettered spine. Stamped Airship Guarantee Co Ltd. Fold out propellor diagram. | 80-120 |
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| 31 | EDSER, Edwin. General Physics For Students. London: Macmillan and Co., Limited 1920. 12mo, 632pp. Original green cloth, black lettered spine. Some fading to spine, tear and rubbing to spine and minor rubbing to corners. Inscription To Dr Frank Teed with the authors' compliments. | 30-40 |
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| 32 | MILLAR, J. B. Elements of Descriptive Geometry. London: Macmillan and Co., Limited 1920. 12mo, 202pp. Original blue cloth with black lettered spine. Fading to spine and cover, minor rubbing to corners and edges of spine, stains to inner pages, page to the back not separated. Signed B.N.Wallis | 80-120 |
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| 33 | Vickers Ltd - A side view of the R80 Airship in Flight at Walney Island, Barrow in Furness, gelatin silver print photograph, published by Vickers circa 1920, 56cm x 70cm, within a stained wood frame 66cm x 80cm. Provenance: Sir Barnes Wallis thence by descent. Note: The R.80 was a British rigid airship, first flown on 19 July 1920, and notable as the first fully streamlined airship constructed in Britain. Designed by Barnes Wallis and H. B. Pratt for Vickers, it was originally commissioned as a military project for the British Admiralty but was ultimately completed for commercial passenger service. In practice, however, the R.80 proved too small to operate viably in this capacity. After a brief period assisting in the training of personnel from the United States Navy who were to crew the ZR-2 airship, the R.80 was withdrawn from service and was eventually scrapped in 1925 | 100-150 |
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| 34 | FORSYTH A. R. A Treatise on Differential Equations. London: Macmillan and Co., Limited 1921. Fifth Edition 8vo, 580pp. Original green cloth with gilt lettered spine. Fading to spine and cover, rubbing to corners and edges, possible rodent damage to edges of cover and spine. Stamped Airship Company Guarantee Company Ltd to book block. | 30-40 |
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| 35 | LARMUTH, Luke Hamilton, Airships Sheds and Their Erection. London: Clowers and Sons 1921. 12mo, 61pp. Paper bound, diagrams throughout and 4 large fold out plates. Covers loose with sellotape repairs, pages toned in places. Initialled B.N.W to endpaper | 100-150 |
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| 36 | VISSERING, Harry. Zeppelin, The Story of a Great Achievement. Chicago: Wells And Company 1922. 4to, 59pp. Original green cloth. Some rubbing to edges and spine. Signed B.N. Wallis | 100-150 |
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| 37 | Technical Report of the Advisory Committee for Aeronautics For 1921-22, Vol. 3. Airships. London: Published by His Majesty's Stationery Office. 1924. Lg. 8vo, pages 637 - 1117. Original grey cloth with black lettered spine. Rubbing to corners and edges of spine, possible rodent damage to spine, ink marks to front cover, stain to inside page. Stamped Airship Company Guarantee Company Ltd to book block | 50-70 |
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| 38 | A piece of notepaper by Sir Barnes Wallis detailing calculations of airship fuel requirements for a 16 day round trip written in red ink with diagram verso, together with the 1924 Engineer Yearbook (split in half, loose boards and pages) within which it was found. 2905pp. 31st Edition. Yearbook signed B.N. Wallis to first page | 300-400 |
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| 39 | PRESCOTT, John. Applied Elasticity. London: Longmans Green and Co. 1924. 8vo, 656pp. Original blue cloth with faded letted spine. Fading to spine, minor rubbing to corners and edges of spine. Signed B.N. Wallis | 80-120 |
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| 40 | LEWITT, E. H. The Rigid Airship - A Treatise on The Design and Performance. London: Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons Ltd. 1925. 8vo, 283pp. Original blue cloth, gilt lettered spine. Fading to spine, rubbing to corners and edges of spine. Signed B.N. Wallis | 80-120 |
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| 41 | 2 vols. NEON. The Great Delusion: A study of Aircraft in Peace and War, London; Ernest Benn 1927. 8vo, bound in blue cloth, signed B.N. Wallis to endpaper together with MORLEY, Arthur.Strength of Materials. London: Longmans Green and Co. 1925.8vo, 555pp.Or iginal green cloth, gilt lettered spine. Minor rubbing to corners and edges of spine, wear to the edges of the covers. Stamped Airship Company Guarantee Company Ltd to book block | 100-150 |
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| 42 | Chambers Educational Course. Mathematical Tables. London: W. & R. Chambers, Limited. 12mo, 454pp. Original red cloth with black lettered spine. Spine and cover in poor condition, staining and foxing to paste down, endpaper and other pages. New Edition. With Airship Guarantee Company Limited stamp to pastedown. | 30-40 |
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| 43 | **Alfred Egerton Cooper R.B.A. (British, 1883-1974) "Putting on the outer fabric covering of the R100 in the shed at Hendon", oil on canvas, signed and dated 1928 recto, additionally signed and dated 1928 with Bourlet label verso, 64cm x 77cm, within a painted wood frame. 76cm x 88cm. ** Artist's Re-sale Rights may be payable on this lot Provenance: Sir Barnes Wallis thence by descent. Note: The painting was reproduced in full colour in The Sphere, 28 September 1929, p. 26. It is prominently displayed on the wall of Barnes Wallis's office in the 1955 film "The Dam Busters", widely regarded as one of the best-known and most beloved British war films of the post-Second World War era, and appears in several publicity photographs of Barnes Wallis, including Roger George Clark's portrait of Sir Barnes Wallis at his desk, now in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery | 1000-2000 |
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| 44 | Two sections of undoped linen possibly from an Airship stored in a brown envelope addressed to Sir Barnes Wallis' home address and postmarked Chichester November 1971 hand written to verso R100 fabric before 'doping' (not from drawers) 77cm x 75cm and 111cm x 189cm with sewn name tag M.F.Wallis (both cut) | 50-70 |
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| 45 | DIEHL, Walter S. Engineering Aerodynamics. New York: The Ronald Press Company 1928. 8vo, 288pp. Original blue cloth with gilt lettered spine. Fading to spine and cover, rubbing to corners and edges of spine. Initialled B.N.W. Feb 1930 | 50-70 |
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| 46 | A 1930's tan leather 3 section satchel with leather straps and brass lock 29cm x 40cm x 9cm | 100-200 |
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| 47 | 5 vols. LONEY, S. L. Plane Trigonometry Part II. Cambridge: At The University Press 1918. 12mo, 211pp. Pen comments and formula bottom page 94, pencil ticks throughout. Original blue cloth with black lettered spine, fading to spine and cover, minor rubbing to corners and edges of spine, staining to endpaper and back pages. Reprinted edition 1918. Signed B.N. Wallis. GHEURY DE BRAY, M. E. J. Exponentials Made Easy or The Story of "Epsilon". London: Macmillan and Co., 1921. 12mo, 253pp. Original green cloth with black lettered spine, fading to spine and cover, rubbing to corners and edges of spine, staining to endpaper and back pages. Mechanical World Year Book 1924. Manchester: Emmott & Company, Limited 1924. 12mo, 173pp. Orginal red cloth with black lettered spine, fading to spine and cover, damage to spine, rubbing to corners and edges. Thirty-Seventh Year of Publication. Signed B.N. Wallis. DUNKERLEY, S. Mechanism. London: Longmans, Green and Co. 1920. 8vo, 447pp. Original green cloth with gilt lettered spine, fading to spine and cover, minor rubbing to corners and edges of spine. Third Edition, New Impression. Signed B.N. Wallis. STEWART, R. Wallace. The Tutorial Physics Volume IV. The Higher Text-Book of Magnetism & Electricity. London: W.B. Clive University Tutorial Press Ltd. 1920. 12mo, 750pp. Original brown cloth with gilt lettered spine. Spine damaged, rubbing to edges and to spine, severe ink staining to cover and edges of pages. Ex Libris Burlington House Cambridge to pastedown. Seventh Impression (Second Edition). Many pages marked with ticks, paragraphs identified with pencil lines and some pages marked in pencil "Omit". | 200-300 |
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| 48 | SPANNER, E. F. About Airships. London: E.F. Spanner, 9 Billiter Square E.C.3. 8vo, 206pp. Original blue cloth, gilt lettered spine. Fading to spine and cover, rubbing to corners and edges of spine, tear and damage to spine. First Edition January 1929. Signed B.N. Wallis | 80-120 |
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| 49 | **Alfred Egerton Cooper R.B.A. (British, 1883-1974), HMA 9 Airship in Flight over Norfolk, oil on canvas, signed and dated 1917 recto, Bourlet label verso, 61cm h x 91cm w, within a painted wood frame 72cm x 103cm. ** Artist's Re-sale Rights may be payable on this lot Provenance: Sir Barnes Wallis thence by descent. Exhibited: possibly "Airships in Peace and War" Prince's Gallery, Knightsbridge, September 1919. The No 9 was the first airship Barnes Wallis worked on as an assistant at Vickers with Chief Designer H B Pratt and the first British airship to fly. A E Cooper and Barnes Wallis were close friends and Cooper is thought to have gifted the picture to Wallis. The painting likely depicts flight over Norfolk as the Airship was stationed from October 17th 1917 at Royal Naval Air Service Station Pulham (later RAF Pulham). The painting is clearly visible in many publicity photographs of Wallis in his office. | 3000-4000 |
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| 50 | A plastic diorama depicting the R.100 airship docked its mooring mast in St. Hubert Airfield, Quebec, Canada on August 3, 1930. 36cm h x 55cm l x 22cm d. The model visible in the background of many photos of Barnes Wallis' office and depicts the R.100 after its 78 hour transatlantic flight to Canada. | 300-400 |
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