Harold Gatty Typed letter partially signed in autograph 3 pages 1937

  

Harold Gatty the "Prince of Navigators," world record holder for the round-the-world flight with Wiley Post - Typed letter partially signed in autograph - 3 pages - 1937. The letter is undated but written from Auckland (New Zealand), on three sheets of fine vellum paper. The first sheet is printed with the letterhead of the Pan American Airways Company. In this letter, Gatty requests the sending of photostats of newspaper articles concerning the history of the Pacific Islands (Christmas, Midway, Palmyra, Marcus Island), for research purposes. He mentions that he is currently writing a book on traditional Polynesian navigation, a central theme of his work, and refers to several sources consulted, particularly within the Library of Congress.

This work is part of a thorough documentation effort aimed at linking ancestral navigation methods to his own activities in developing transpacific aviation for Pan American Airways. Gatty was notably the author of the Raft Book (1943), a survival manual at sea that combines traditional navigation techniques, including Polynesian methods, with modern observations, intended for aviators crossing the Pacific, and his project on oceanic navigation later influenced Nature Is Your Guide (posthumously published in 1958).

A handwritten postscript completes the letter, signed with his initials H. 21.5 x 27.8 cm. Condition: See photos and description for more details. He was an Australian navigator and a pioneer of aviation.

Charles Lindbergh referred to Gatty as the "prince of navigators." Autographed letters, old papers, antique books, photographs, engravings, stamps... We evaluate and/or buy your letters, letter collections, and old books throughout France.

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