A complete bibliography of aeronautical works issued up to 1909, published by the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, gives no less than 13,500 entries of book pamphlets, and articles; in all probability, between that time and the present, the total has been more than doubled. The following is a list of outstanding work on the subject from the earliest times, and, in a good many cases, the works mentioned give further bibliographies. The Smithsonian publication, differentiating very little between the solid work on the subject and the magazine article, is of little use except to the advanced student of the subject; the following list is compiled with a view to directing attention to the more notable books and publications—a complete bibliography, as appendix to a work on aeronautics, is an impossibility:—

Prodromo All Arte MÆstra, by Francesco Lana. Brescia, 1670.

Mathematical Magic, by J. Wilkins, Bishop of Chester. London, 1691.

The Air Balloon, or a Treatise on the Aerostatic Globe. London, 1783.

Description des Experiences de la Machine Aerostatique, by F. St Fond. 2 vols. Paris, 1783.

Hints of Important Uses to be derived from Aerostatic Globes, by T. Martyn. London, 1784. Account of the First Aerial Voyage in England, by V. Lunardi. London, 1784.

Narrative of M. Blanchard’s Third Aerial Voyage, translated from the French of M. Blanchard. London, 1784.

Journal and Certificates of the Fourth Voyage of M. Blanchard. London, 1784.

Breslaw’s Last Legacy. With an accurate description of the method how to make the air balloon. London, 1784.

Thoughts of the Further Improvement of Aerostation. London, 1785.

Treatise on Aerostatic Machines, by J. Southern. Birmingham, 1785.

Lunardi’s Account of his Second Aerial Voyage from Liverpool, August 9th, 1785. London, 1785 or 1786.

An Account of Mr James Decker’s Two Aerial Expeditions. Norwich, 1785.

The History and Practice of Aerostation, by Tiberius Cavallo, F.R.S. London, 1785.

Eloge Funebre de M. Pilatre de Rozier, by M. Lenoir. London, 1785.

Airopaida, by T. Baldwin. Chester, 1786.

An Account of Five Aerial Voyages in Scotland, by V. Lunardi. London, 1786.

A Narrative of the Two Aerial Voyages of Dr Jeffries with Mons. Blanchard, by Dr Jeffries. London, 1786.

Account of the Three Last Aerial Voyages made by M. Garnerin. Somerstown, 1803. (?)

Aeronautica, or Voyages in the Air, by M. Garnerin. London, 1803. (?)

Treatise on the Use of Balloons in Military Operations, by Lieut.-Col. Money. London, 1803. A Treatise upon the Art of Flying, by Thomas Walker. Hull, 1810.

The Aerial Voyage of Mr Sadler across the Irish Channel, October 1st, 1812. Dublin, 1812.

A Narrative of the Aerial Voyage of Mr Windham Sadler across the Irish Channel, July, 1817. Dublin, 1827.

The Aeropleustic Art, or Navigation in the Air by Means of Kites or Buoyant Sails, by George Pocock. London, 1827.

Annals of Some Remarkable Aerial and Alpine Voyages, by T. Forster, M.B. London, 1832.

Aeronautica, by Monk Mason. London, 1838.

An Essay on Aerial Navigation, by Joseph MacSweeney, M.D. Cork, 1844.

The Balloon, or Aerostatic Magazine, by Henry Coxwell. London, 1845.

A System of Aeronautics, by John Wise. Philadelphia, 1850.

Histoires de la Locomotion Aerienne, by Julian Turgan. Paris, 1851.

Balloons for Warfare, by Henry Coxwell. London, 1854.

The History of the Charvolant or Kite Carriage. London, 1851.

The Giant Balloon, by F. Silas. London, 1863.

Meteorological and Physical Observations made in Balloon Ascents, by James Glaisher. London, Reprint from Report of British Association, 1864.

Astra Castra, by Hatton Turnor. London, 1865.

The Right to Fly, translated from the French of Nadar. London, 1866.

The Mechanical Appliances by which Flight is Attained, by J.B. Pettigrew, M.D. London, 1867. (?) Travels in the Air, by James Glaisher. London, 1871.

Animal Locomotion, with a Dissertation on Aeronautics, by J.B. Pettigrew, M.D. London, 1874.

Animal Mechanism, by E.J. Marey. London, 1874.

Aerial Navigation, by C.B. Mansfield. London, 1877.

The Aerial World, by Dr G. Hartig. (New Edition.) London, 1881.

Ballooning, by G. May. London, 1886.

My Life and Balloon Experiences, by Henry Coxwell. London, 1887.

My Life and Balloon Experiences (second series). London, 1889.

Experiments in Aerodynamics, by S. Pierpont Langley. Washington, 1891.

Aerial Navigation, by Octave Chanute. New York, 1891.

Screw-propelled Aeroplane Machines, by E.J. Stringfellow. Chard, 1892.

The Internal Work of the Wind, by S.P. Langley. Washington, 1893.

Progress in Flying Machines, by Octave Chanute. New York, 1894.

Aerial Navigation, by A.F. Zahm. Philadelphia, 1894.

Aerial Navigation, by Fijnje van Salverda. New York, 1894.

The Aeronautical Annual, by J.S. Means. 3 vols. Boston, U.S.A., 1895–6–7.

Manual of Military Ballooning. British War Office publication. London, 1896.

The Navigation of the Air, by A. McCallum. Aeronautical Society, London, 1897. Gliding Experiments, by Octave Chanute. Western Society of Engineers, U.S.A., 1897.

Parakites, by G.T. Woglom. New York, 1897.

The Mechanism and Equilibrium of Kites, by Professor Marvin. Washington, 1897.

Andree and his Balloon, by H. Lachambre and A. Machuron. London, 1898.

La Conquete de l’Air, by L. Sazerac de Forge. Paris, 1900. This is one of the most exhaustive accounts of the development of dirigible airships that has been produced. Special attention is paid to the Lebaudy type.

Aerial Navigation, by Frederick Walker. London, 1902.

Practical Kites and Aeroplanes, by Frederick Walker. London, 1903.

My Airships, by A. Santos Dumont. London, 1904. A personal account by the French pioneer of aerostatic experiment.

Flying Machines with Paddling Wings, by Andre Delprat. London, 1904.

Manual of Military Ballooning. London, by Authority, 1905.

Resistance of the Air and the Question of Flying, by Arnold Samuelson. Hamburg, 1905.

Navigating the Air. Published by the Aero Club of America. New York, 1907.

Flying Machines: Past, Present, and Future, by A.W. Marshall and H. Greenly. London, 1907. (?)

A History of Balloons and Flying Machines, by Lord Montagu. London, 1907.

Pocketbook of Aeronautics, by Major H. Moedebeck. London, 1907. One of the most valuable reference works on the subject that has been compiled. The Problem of Flight, by Herbert Chatley. London, 1907.

Aerial Flight: Aerodynamics, by F.W. Lanchester. London, 1907.

Aerial Locomotion, by A. Graham Bell. Washington, 1907.

Researches on the Form and Stability of Aeroplanes, by W.R. Turnbull. Reprint from the Physical Review, London, 1907.

Aerial Flight: Aerodonetics, by F.W. Lanchester. London, 1908.

Airships, Past and Present, by A. Hildebrandt. London, 1908. An English translation from the German, which embodies all that had been done up to 1906 or thereabouts in dirigible construction, with a few notes on aeroplane design and progress. In various details Hildebrandt is incorrect, but there is a good deal in his work which is of value to the student, if a confirming authority can be consulted.

Aerial Warfare, by R.P. Hearne. London, 1908.

Artificial and Natural Flight, by Sir Hiram Maxim. London, 1908. Containing an account of all Maxim’s experiments up to the time of writing.

The Present Status of Military Aeronautics, by Major G.O. Squier. Published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. 1908.

The Problem of Flight, by Jose Weiss. London, 1908.

Practical Aerodynamics, by Major Baden-Powell. (Part 1.) London, 1909.

The Conquest of the Air, by A. Berget. London, 1909.

Vehicles of the Air, by Victor Lougheed. Chicago and London, 1909. An illustrated compendium of aeroplane and airship design, sketchily written, and containing a number of conclusions which at the present time can hardly be regarded as accurate. Chiefly valuable for diagrams and data of early machines and engines.

Model Flying Machines, by W.G. Aston. London, 1909.

The Aeronautical Classics: 1, Aerial Navigation, by Sir George Cayley; 2. Aerial Locomotion, by F.H. Wenham; 3. The Art of Flying, by Thomas Walker; 4. The Aerial Ship, by Francesco Lana; 5. Gliding, by Percy S. Pilcher, and The Aeronautical Work of John Stringfellow; 6. The Flight of Birds, by Giovanni A. Borelli. A series of small manuals, mainly reprints, edited for the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain by T. O’Brien Hubbard and J.H. Ledeboer, of the utmost value to the student of aeronautical history. The rescue of Walker’s and Borelli’s work from obscurity is in particular noteworthy as indicative of the valuable work accomplished by the Aeronautical Society.

The Boys’ Book of Airships, by Harry Delacombe, 1910, and The Boys’ Book of Aeroplanes, by T. O’Brien Hubbard and C.C. Turner, 1912. Both these books, published by Grant Richards, are of far greater value than their titles indicate. Written primarily for boys, they—especially the latter—contain a mass of historical information, both accurate and valuable.

The Langley Memoir on Mechanical Flight, by S.P. Langley and Charles Manly. Published by the Smithsonian Institute, Washington.

Aircraft in Warfare, by F.W. Lanchester. London, 1913. Bird Flight as the Basis of Aviation, by Otto Lilienthal.

The Design of Aeroplanes, by A.W. Judge. London.

The Mechanics of the Aeroplane, by Captain Duchesne.

Airscrews, by M.A.S. Riach. London. The standard work on the subject.

Stability in Aviation, by G.H. Bryan. London.

The Properties of Aerofoils, by A.W. Judge. London.

Aero Engines, by G.A. Burls. London.

High Speed Internal Combustion Engines, by A.W. Judge. London.

The Aero Engine, by S. Kean. London.

Aircraft, by Evan J. David. Scribner’s, New York, 1919. A rather scrappy account of the development of aeroplanes and dirigibles, with special reference to the war period.

British Airships: Past, Present, and Future, by George Whale. London, 1919. A very useful semi-technical handbook of the subject.

The Aviation Pocket-Book, by H. Borlase Matthews. An annual compendium, issued by Messrs Crosby Lockwood & Co., London, giving fairly full data of technical development year by year. (Not issued 1919 or 1920.)