for our Sir Barnes Wallis 'Dam Busters' Collection auction to be held on Wednesday 25th of March 2026
| Lot No | Description | Est | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| 263 | A selection of aircraft brochures, many with notes handwritten by Wallis to include brochures on Concorde, Vickers Wellington One and Two, Vickers Vanguard, Super VC10, B.A.C 111 etc | 100-150 |
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| 264 | A photograph of the Children of Barnes and Molly Wallis: Barnes, Mary, Elisabeth, Christopher and Molly's sister's children John and Robert McCormick: Provenance: Sir Barnes Wallis thence by descent. 19cm x 27cm | 30-50 |
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| 265 | Gerald Coulson (1926-2021) "The Sinking of the Tirpitz", 20th century colour print, 23cm h x 28cm w, within a stained wood frame. Provenance: Sir Barnes Wallis thence by descent. | 50-80 |
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| 266 | A B Kirkbride Associates for The British Aluminium Company, an Aluminium Alloy BA.24.WP machined and hand finished ashtray with barked edge, the interior monogrammed B.N.W. 11cm x 11cm together with an explanatory slip of paper. | 300-400 |
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| 267 | A Simplon Automatic Adjustable Set-Square Dargues Patent, very chipped and brittle | 80-120 |
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| 268 | A large collection of 1960's and 70's brochures, scientific volumes and mathematic books (1 brochure with rubbed signature B.N. Wallis) | 50-70 |
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| 269 | Will Spencer (1921-2002) "Animal Crackers: When we go to England I want to try those Barnes-Wallis adjustable wings!", ink with watercolour, signed with initials and inscribed, 23cm h x 14cm w. Provenance: Sir Barnes Wallis thence by descent. Note: In 1954 Spencer joined the News Chronicle to start the "Animal Crackers" pocket cartoon series. This ran in the News Chronicle until that paper was absorbed by the Daily Mail in October 1960, when it continued in the combined paper. The Daily Mail continued to feature "Animal Crackers" until May 1971, when the newspaper was redesigned as a tabloid and the series was dropped. This work, depicting swallows in flight, alludes to Sir Barnes Wallis's pioneering "Swallow" project of the 1950s. During this period, Wallis advanced a bold variable-geometry concept he termed the "wing-controlled aerodyne", conceived to maximise the efficiency and economy of high-speed flight. His earliest investigations took shape in the "Wild Goose" study, which laid the groundwork for subsequent developments. Wallis later refined these ideas into the "Swallow", a tailless, blended-wing aircraft envisioned as capable of completing return journeys between Europe and Australia in under ten hours - an extraordinary ambition for its time. As the project evolved, the Swallow was increasingly regarded as a potential supersonic successor to the RAF's subsonic Vickers Valiant bomber. Throughout the mid-1950s, various models of the design were tested with promising results, including a six-foot scale model that achieved speeds approaching Mach 2. Despite its technical promise, the programme was curtailed in 1957 when the British government withdrew support from several advanced aeronautical initiatives, bringing Wallis' visionary work on the Swallow to an end. | 150-250 |
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| 270 | Nine 1970's volumes of Year Book of The Royal Society - 1970, 71, 72, 73, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, red cloth bound with gilt lettered spines | 40-60 |
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| 271 | A black document case marked British Aircraft Corporation, with zipped main compartment and zipped compartment to the front 29cm h x 41cm w (Sir Barnes Wallis worked for BAC from 1945 until he retired in 1971) | 40-60 |
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| 272 | 7 vols. A collection of books with personal dedications from the authors to Barnes Wallis to include ANDREWS C. F., Vickers Aircraft Since 1908. MORPURGO J. E., The Road to Athens 1967. EULER, Helmut, Als Deutschlands Damme Brachen 1975. SCOTT J.D., Vickers History 1962. BONNER W. A., Dixon, Aircraft From Airship to Jet Propulsion 1908-1948, London: Tapp & Toothill Ltd. 1949 and GARBETT Mike, The Lancaster War 1972 (x2) | 80-120 |
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| 273 | An Inuit carved hardstone figure of a standing Inuit, raised on a white onyx base with gilt metal plaque marked Sir Barnes Wallis, In Appreciation Canadian 617 Squadron, 24th September 1977 (plaque is loose), the reverse of the figure labelled Canada Eskimo Art, on a revolving base 20cm x 13cm x 13cm | 100-150 |
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| 274 | **David Shepherd C.B.E. (1931-2017) "Winter of '43, Somewhere in England", limited edition colour print, signed in pencil and with blindstamp, published in 1977, 51cm h x 93cm w, within a stained wood and hessian frame. ** Artist's Re-sale Rights may be payable on this lot. Provenance: Sir Barnes Wallis thence by descent. Note: this work has been on loan with the Royal Air Force Museum. In 1977, to "repay his debt" to the Royal Air Force, David Shepherd painted a picture of a Lancaster bomber at dispersal, titling it "Winter of '43 - Somewhere in England". He donated 850 prints, all signed and numbered, of this painting to the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, and the prints raised 96,000 pounds for the institution. | 100-200 |
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| 275 | A pair of airship calendars from 1977 and 1978 full of diary events from the personal life of Sir Barnes Wallis | 100-120 |
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| 276 | GLOVER C. W. & Partners, Glover Construction Handbook. 108pp. Orginal burgundy cloth. The end paper with inscription "Sir Barnes N. Wallis C.B.E. F.R.S. With Compliments. Chas. W. Glover". Ditto publication. EKCO ELECTRONICS LTD. Useful Data. London: D.Harper & Co. Ltd. Black vinyl cover. 38pp, w ith an Ekco Electronics Ltd, Priory Park, Southend on Sea With Compliments slip, stamp dated 23 DEC 1969. Ditto publication. IOCO Synthetic Resin Products. Formaplex Boards and Tubes Booklet No. 11. Glasgow. Beige card bound product guide. 20pp. IOCO Synthetic Resin Products. Formaplex Cloth Miocarta Gears Booklet No. 13. Glasgow. Beige card bound product guide. 20pp. THOS. FIRTH & SONS, LTD., Steels Specially Resistant to Corrosion. Mexborough: Times Printing Co Ltd. Blue card cover. 73pp. with pencil written inscription to inside page dated 13/5/31. ENGLISH STEEL CORPORATION LTD. A. W. Small Tools, Section No.6, Screwing Apparatus. Catalogue Ref.; S.T.O. 6/1. London & Birm. Silk & Terry Ltd., Brown paper covers, 59pp. ENGLISH STEEL CORPORATION LTD. Tool Steels. Catalogue Ref. S.S. 13/1 Eng. Printed in England. 103pp. Black card covers with white lettered spine. WERNER, Fritz, (translated by Hans Dominik) The Machine Tool and Small Tool Industry, An Outline of Its Development and Modern Organisation. Berlin: Organisation Verlagsgesellschaft M.B.H. (S.Hirzel) 1931. 74pp. Printed colour cover on beige cloth. With loose page inviting acknowledgment of receipt of the book. COOKE TROUGHTON & SIMMS LTD. Drawing Office Equipment. Publication No. 860. An illustrated catalogue of drawing instruments and equipment. ii, 172pp. Green card covers. Electron, Magnesium Alloys. Birmingham: The Kynoch Press. 1937. Original black cloth with gilt lettered spine. 127pp. The endpaper with attached slip "Presented to B. N. Wallis Esq. with the compliments of F. A. Hughes & Co. Ltd". | 50-70 |
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| 277 | After C E Turner, a copper engraving, A "Wellington" Bomber sets out at dusk for a distant "Target Area" 19cm h x 26cm w, in a stained oak frame | 60-80 |
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| 278 | A collection of Barnes Wallis' paper stationery to include writing pads, sketch pads, graft pads, tracing paper, a piece of blotting paper with stains and signed B.N. Wallis, together with a couple of pages of formula related to commercial aircraft | 100-150 |
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| 279 | The contents of Sir Barnes Wallis' desk including a collection of paper clips, pens, rubber bands and a clicker etc | 50-70 |
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| 280 | **Attributed to Martin Aitchison (1919-2016), Comic Strip depicting the Achievements of Sir Barnes Wallis, pen with ink, in several sections, 12cm h x 43cm w (x3), 12cm x 30cm and 12cm x 12.5cm. ** Artist's Re-sale Rights may be payable on this lot. Provenance: Sir Barnes Wallis thence by descent. | 80-120 |
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| 281 | ROGET, Peter, Everyman's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases, J.M. Dent & Sons 1952, 12mo, 572pp., bound in blue cloth, gilt lettering. Signed B.N. Wallis Sept 1952 to endpaper | 50-70 |
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| 282 | 2 vols. CHESTERTON, G.K. St Francis of Assisi, Hodder & Stoughton 1933, 12mo, 185pp., bound in blue cloth, black lettering, signed M.F. Wallis and KIPLING, Rudyard, Rudyard Kipling's Verse Inclusive Edition 1885-1918, London: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, 8vo, 787pp., bound in blue cloth, gilt lettering, signed M.F. Wallis (Molly Wallis, Barnes' wife) | 50-70 |
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| 283 | After Keith Broomfield - "Vickers Wellington III of No.150 Squadron, Royal Air Force Bomber Command, Europe 1942", 20th century colour print, 30cm x 50cm, within a stained wood frame. Provenance: Sir Barnes Wallis thence by descent. Note: Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson, a key feature of the Wellington was its geodetic airframe fuselage structure, which was principally designed by Barnes Wallis. | 50-80 |
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| 284 | A large quantity of mainly 1960's/1970's modern novels and biographies from the Wallis library, none are signed or initialled by Sir Wallis. The Life of Nelson in 2 vols with dedication "To my dearest client and most patient Master H Mushlain" 6th October 1964' | 50-70 |
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| 285 | A 1950's black and white photograph of a remote Vickers Swallow swing-wing aircraft during testing 29cm x 37cm | 40-60 |
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| 286 | An early 20th Century magic lantern, converted to electricity, contained in an aluminium and painted metal case with brass lens housing, the cover marked RD No. 230577 6in, raised on a wooden adjustable stand 39cm h x 51cm w x 19.5cm d, together with a Dallmeyer 12" F/7-7 Dallon Tele-Anastigmat 200766 lens with Air Ministry marking to the interior, complete with wooden carrying case 42.5cm h x 59cm w x 22cm d. Most likely used by Sir Wallis for his lecturing. | 80-120 |
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| 287 | A collection of Barnes Wallis' lecture slides mainly about airships in fitted numbered wooden boxes (88 slides, in two boxes) Black Box, Graphs (crossed out in red), 27 slides (4 cracked) Staring at the two-holes end: Section A: 11 slides (1 cracked), two diagrams of airships, two tables and a list of WW2 shipping data, a table of rocket propellant performance, two photos of girders, three slides of text, equations and table Section B: 10 slides (2 cracked), 7 diagrams relating to the performance of airships, three photos of the construction of R100 Section C: 4 slides, 2 diagrams relating to airships, 1 photo ditto, 1 world map showing trade Section D: 8 slides (1 cracked), 1 diagram and 5 photos of the construction of the R100, 1 diagram and photo of the Graf Zeppelin Box 1, Current Lecture, 61 slides (slides are not completely in order; 2 cracked slides) From "Start Here" label: Section A: 16 slides showing world maps and diagrams of airships for long-distance travel Section B: 19 slides (1 cracked) showing the early development of long-distance Zeppelins (Germany to America) compared with British dirigibles and the late development of British airships, culminating with the R100 Section C: 18 slides showing the construction of the R100, the development of BOAC routes around the world, the long-distance Vulcan bomber and an image of the swing-wing Swallow Section D: 8 slides (1 cracked) showing the potential of supersonic travel | 200-300 |
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