military

A classic World War I song from famed composer Irving Berlin, this sheet music is part of the Bella C. Landauer Collection of Aeronautical Sheet Music held in the National Air and Space Museum Library.  The cover includes a photograph of comedian and singer Eddie Cantor, who performed the song in the Ziegfeld Follies.  An excellent example of Americana from the early 20th century.

This Boeing Aircraft Company produced this 1943 manual of the B-17F model heavy bomber, which was issued to U.S. Army Air Force personnel assigned to fly and service this iconic World War II aircraft. There are extensively detailed illustrations and instruction pages with technical information on all parts of the aircraft. It is in surprisingly excellent condition.

The author of this booklet, Dr. Robert Miller Spaulding, Jr., aka “Dr. Bob,” was a 90-year-old professor of Japanese history at Oklahoma State University. Originally from Alabama and Mississippi, he briefly served as an Army Officer (like the librarian at the National Postal Museum, where this book is housed). The Army sent him to school to learn Japanese, and then sent him to Japan in 1946. Dr. Spaulding published many professional books on Japanese history. He was also a philatelist, and was an active member of The International Society for Japanese Philately.

The year 2017 marks the centennial anniversary of the United States’ involvement in World War I. This 1917 government publication, marked "Secret and confidential [now scratched out in red]; Not to be taken into front line trenches," provides a tiny window into life on the battlefield. Designed to help military staff on the front lines collect and analyze personal effects from captured German soldiers, it explains the importance of seemingly mundane items like postcards or letters in indicating where entire units of the German Army were located.