Looping the Loop: Posters of Flight
Ambassador Henry Villard and
Willis M. Allen Jr.

The book is based largely on Ambassador Henry Villard’s never-before-published personal accounts from attending worldly early aviation events. Through his eloquent, graceful writing, he leaves a legacy of love and understanding of man and flight.

160 pages | $39.95

The New York Times
Capturing, And Selling, The Glamour Of Flight
By Rita Reif

POSTERS helped sell aviation to the world a century ago, though not until five years after Orville and Wilbur Wright flew a heavier-than-air machine for the first time at Kitty Hawk, N.C., in 1903. Even then, public interest in flying surged first not in the United States but in...

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The Associated Press
Colorful posters bring early aviation back to life
By Randolph E. Schmid

For the early aviation enthusiast, few things are more exciting than taking to the skies in a biplane or watching old aircraft perform. However, for those quiet evenings indoors, a colorful new book provides plenty of browsing fun. "Looping the Loop: Posters of Flight” contains 102 full-page color prints of posters from the early years of flight, along with a glowing reminiscence by flight historian Henry Serrano Villard, who died in 1996.


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Library Journal
Looping the Loop: Posters of Flight
by Henry Serrano Villard and Willis M. Allen Jr.

The romantic appeal of watching the pioneer fliers take to the air cannot be overstated. Although the Wright brothers' accomplishment at Kitty Hawk in 1903 has not vanished from the public memory, the significant early contribution of French fliers largely has. If nothing else, this gorgeous book makes clear the inspiring efforts of the early French fliers (who predominate here) as well as those of the artists who celebrated them in charmingly vivid posters for air shows. Of the 102 posters from the Allen Airways Flying Museum, El Cahon, CA, and other collections shown here, 32 are part of a traveling exhibit that opened in the Smithsonian in April and will travel for two years around the country. As art historian Rennert points out in his foreword, the arrival of flight coincided with a French poster craze, or affichomanie. When the French aeronaut Louis Bleriot crossed the English Channel in July 1909, conditions were perfect for a renaissance in commercial art, and artists and fliers went about inspiring each other. Aviation historians Villard and Allen have produced an uncompromisingly elegant salute to early flight and its mustached heroes dropping bouquets from the skies. For art and aviation collections.


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Copyright © Library Journal. All rights reserved. 2000.

Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine
Aerospace Library
A List Of Top Titles From Our Panel Of Experts

Looping the Loop: Posters of Flight by Henry Serano Villard and Willis M. Allen Jr. (Kales Press, 2000). Beautiful aviation posters that span the years of early flight, the Golden Age, and World War II.


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Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine
Reviews & Previews
Looping the Loop: Posters of Flight
By John Sotham

Even as daring aeronauts ascended in ballons, the Wright brothers flew at Kitty Hawk, and Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic, poster artists chronicled the emerging importance of aviation with brushes, charcoals, and pastels. Looping the Loop is a rich collection of their work that spans the period between the late 19th century and World War II.
… Looping the Loop is a wonderful tribute to aviation’s colorful first half-century.

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Flight Journal
Looping the Loop: Posters of Flight
by Robert S. DeGroat

When the late Henry Villard started collecting posters of the early air meets, he no doubt had few illusions that they would one day be viewed with nostalgia. Indeed, many of those same posters are nearly priceless now and form the basis for a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition in addition to the new book "Looping the Loop: Posters of Flight."

This remarkable book, completed by Willis M. Allen Jr., shows off these colorful posters (some of which he owns) with their often fanciful subject matter. Each is supported by background information, often written by Villard, who actually attended many of these early events. His astute observations about these special occasions as they transpired so long ago bring these images to life.

The artwork is all-inclusive, from the early air meets to advertisements to RAF recruiting posters from both world wars. At shows in such venues as Paris, Frankfurt, Blackpool and even Boston, future combatants competed as performers. It turns out that racetracks were commonly used as makeshift aerodromes, an interesting fact in October 1910 when applied to Belmont, Long Island, New York (today one site of the Triple Crown thoroughbred races). It was even billed as a combination sporting and social event.

Remember, these were the days before reliable air travel. The daredevils in the crowd would eagerly hand over the princely sum of $1 for the ride of a lifetime! This book is fun and informative-a rare combination these days. It captures the essence of early flight and makes for a spectacular trip.

Copyright Air Age Publishing Oct 2000
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.


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