aeronautical

Published in 1946, this adventure story is set in Peru in 1938. It is the tale of a father and his two sons’ pursuit of an Incan treasure known as the "golden condor." This copy has a bookplate identifying the book as a gift from the publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, to the Aeronautical Archives. It is representative of the many works of popular aviation adventure stories in the National Air and Space Museum library collection that document how motorized flight captured young people's imaginations.

What is an aircraft book doing at the national postal museum library? Airplanes have also carried the mail—and continue to do so. The golden age of private aircraft spanned the end of World War I to the start of World War II. During these years of temporary calm, aircraft engineers made significant technological advances, producing safer, stronger, and faster aircraft. Many of these innovations appeared in aircraft made for the private market.