[AERONAUTICS] FERBER, Ferdinand. Progress in Aviation Since - Lot 11

[AERONAUTICS] FERBER, Ferdinand. Progress in Aviation Since 1891 Through Gliding. First edition, enhanced with a long, signed autograph letter from the author. Rare. Paris and Nancy, Berger-Levrault et Cie, 1905. In-8, light brown half-basane, ribbed spine. 61 pp., 48 black-and-white illustrations. Some normal wear on the binding; paper slightly discolored at the margins. First edition. Ferdinand Ferber (1862–1909), a French officer and aviation pioneer, traces the evolution of flying machines based on the gliding experiments initiated by Otto Lilienthal as early as 1891, and highlights the crucial importance of gliders for understanding balance and control in the air prior to the use of engines. Coat-of-arms bookplate of Joseph de Marliave (1873–1914), musicologist, music critic, and infantry captain. This copy is accompanied by a long, autograph letter signed by the author (2 pages, in-4 format, on graph paper, Lyon, March 12, 1896). Then a professor at the Artillery and Engineering Training School, he discusses his differences of opinion with various colleagues, particularly regarding the issue of unitary quaternions, a mathematical method used to represent the orientation and rotation of three-dimensional objects. A fine copy in a contemporary binding.