Two partial September and December 1918 issues of PAYNE FIELD ZOOMS, a World War I base newspaper for Payne Field, West Point, Mississippi of the U.S. Air Service Flying School.

Payne Field, U.S. Air Service Flying School. [United States Army Air Service - USAAS; United States Army Air Corps.]

Published by West Point, MS: Payne Field, U.S. Air Service Flying School [United States Army Air Service], September and December 1918.

Four sheets (total of eight pages), each approximately H 22 inches x L 15 inches, presented in clear mylar protective covers. Standard toning to thin and somewhat brittle newsprint sheets; old tape repairs to lengthwise/widthwise folds/tears at vertical and horizontal centers; other tears and small/slender chips. *** SEPTEMBER 25, 1918 ISSUE. Pages 3-4, 5-6, and 7-8 present. Various articles, notes regarding Squadrons, A, B, C, and D, and numerous advertisements for businesses in West Point, Okolona, Aberdeen, and Columbus. *** DECEMBER 25, 1918 ISSUE. Volume I: Number 18, "Christmas Pictorial Edition" - pages 1-2 only. Interesting photo and illustration collage on headsheet (i.e. page 1) with staff, officers, and cadets in captioned group photos on page 2 (unfortunately only the left half of a panoramic image is present at the top of the page as it was continued on the opposing recto (i.e. page 3) which is, of course, lacking). *** PAYNE FIELD ZOOMS was published weekly on Wednesdays with its premier issue (Volume 1, Number 1) being September 4, 1918 and its final issue (Volume 1, Number 21) being January 15, 1919. However, upon checking 1918-1919 calendars, there were only twenty Wednesdays between said dates so there was a numbering error or a special issue altered the weekly count. The Library of Congress catalog notes "Published at the military base at Payne Field" but this seems highly unlikely as contemporary on-base military publications did not enjoy professional layout and printing. It is far more likely that issues were prepared and printed by a local newspaper firm - either West Point's Daily Times Leader or in Columbus which, in the 1910s, had two competing papers - The Columbus Dispatch and The Columbus Commercial. Other community newspapers in Starkville, Okolona, and Aberdeen which could have offered their printing services as well. As is typical for WWI aviation related material, surviving copies of PAYNE FIELD ZOOMS appear to be quite scarce. OCLC seems to indicate that physical copies are only held by LoC, Auburn, and Stanford although a number of other institutions have runs on microfilm/microfiche. *** Located approximately four miles north-northeast of West Point, Mississippi within Clay County, Payne Field operated as a military flight training school for the United States Army Air Service from April/May 1918 to March 1920. Payne Field was among the earliest aviation schools in the United States and was the first airfield constructed in Mississippi. Seller Inventory # CVA-01450

Bibliographic Details

Title: Two partial September and December 1918 ...
Publisher: West Point, MS: Payne Field, U.S. Air Service Flying School [United States Army Air Service], September and December 1918.
Binding: Hardcover