Tuesday, September 08, 2009

The Royal Indian Air Force at War : An account of Air Operations in South-East Asia

This has to be the most expensive book that I ever bought, atleast in terms of Rupees per Cubic cm of volume!. But well worth it. Published in 1946 by the Directorate of Public Relations, the book is a pinbound volume with about 120 pages of text and photos. Colour plates showcase water color paintings by Henry Sheldon.

Among my collector friends (some of them with very deep pockets) , no one has a copy. So I solemnly declare that this is the only copy known to be in the wild. Even USI is said to have only a photocopy.

I am listing the copies with other Libraries here. Let me know if you run into any stashed away anywhere.

Oh btw. I owe you one - eBay!

Catalogue Searches: (Zero, Zilch, Nada)
Amazon.com : Not Listed , Amazon.co.uk : 0 , Amazon.ca : Not Listed , Abebooks : 0 , Bookfinder : 0 , WorldCat.org : 0

Known Copies:

1. Library of Congress, Washington DC, USA http://lccn.loc.gov/47022977
2. British Library, UK Link
3. Imperial War Museum Collection, UK Link

Let me know if you find more

30 November 2013 Update : Roughly four years after i made the above post, I am glad to mention that a SECOND copy of the above book has been spotted in the wild - in the hands of another Indian Aviation Enthusiast. Vinayak Dutt Shukla has one copy in his collection too - and he sends proof!  Its actually in better condition than my copy..


Congratualations on the great acquisition - Now guard it with your life VDS!