COOK, Noel

A bookplate for pioneering aviator Amy Johnson (1903-1941), signed in pencil by the artist

A large two-colour lithograph; in fine condition.

Peake 2831. The signature is dated 1930, the year Johnson became the first woman to fly solo from Britain to Australia. The attractive design shows the route of her groundbreaking flight and her de Havilland DH.60G Gipsy Moth (G-AAAH 'Jason'). This example has a calligraphic inscription in black ink in the bottom margin: 'The Gift of F.C.V. LANE'. Frederick Claude Vivian Lane (1879-1969), a master printer, was the compiler of 'The Bookplates of Norman Lindsay', published by Harry Muir's Wakefield Press in Adelaide in 1944 (in an earlier life, he was a world-champion swimmer and Olympic gold medallist). It seems safe to say that Harry Muir was the recipient of this gift.

Provenance: H.B. (Harry) Muir (1909-1992), bookseller, publisher and bookplate collector; by descent.