"The Third Route" 1929 Sassoon, Philip

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SASSOON, Philip

[291] pp.

William Heineman Limited Ltd

1929

9" x 6"

Philip Sassoon's travel book, with the scarce dust … Read more SASSOON, Philip

[291] pp.

William Heineman Limited Ltd

1929

9" x 6"

Philip Sassoon's travel book, with the scarce dust jacket by Rex Whistler. The Third Route is Sassoon's personal account of his celebrated 17,000 mile flying tour in 1928 of British overseas air stations in his capacity as Air Minister. He visited Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, Iraq, India and Malta. The aim of the tour was two-fold - firstly, to inspect the Empire's network of air bases; secondly, to test the new air route to India with a view to opening it up to civilians. The title Third Route refers to this new passage to India which, in Sassoon's view, followed on from Vasco da Gama and the Suez Canal. Rex Whistler's map illustrates these three routes and is reproduced on the dust jacket and (in this British edition) on the endpapers. The aerial photographs reproduced in the book offered readers a fresh vantage point to the world's archaeological sites and cities. All proceeds from the book were given to the Royal Air Force Memorial Fund. T.E. Lawrence wrote to Sassoon after reading his copy - 'Yesterday I re-read your Third Route (in my usual fashion, which is to toss through a new book in an hour, first time and if it seems to ask for more, to go through it again slowly, after a fortnight). Yours did definitely ask for it.' (letter dated 15 May 1929). Scarce with the Whistler dust jacket.

DESCRIPTION
Philip Sassoon. Introduction by Thornton Wilder. Dust jacket and cover device by Rex Whistler. William Heinemann. London. 1929. First edition. British edition. Hardback, octavo; blue cloth-bound boards, gilt titles to front board and spine, dust jacket. viii, 291 pages. 24 hors texte illustrations and one folding map. English. 225 x 155mm. 0.75kg. [Whistler, Laurence & Ronald Fuller, 'The Work of Rex Whistler', 1960, no. 422; Collins, Damian, 'Charmed Life. The Phenomenal World of Philip Sassoon', 2016, p.183, 195-6]

Good, in fair dust jacket; wear to jacket with some loss to spine ends, toning especially to the spine, split along front hinge and repaired with tape, splitting to rear hinge, price-clipped; spotting and toning to edges, ink marks to top edge, occasional spotting, previous owner's name stamp to half-title See less