GEIGER, HERMANN. — Geiger Der Gletscherflieger. (Signed).

Lausanne: Marguerat, 1954. 1st edition. (Trans: The Glacier Pilot). Autobiography of Hermann Geiger Swiss aviator and search and rescue pilot whose heroic actions gave him national hero status in Switzerland. Known as "The Glacier Pilot," he pioneered the art of landing his Piper PA-18 on glaciers in the Swiss Alps like no other. Text in German. Pp.210/iv, tipped-in colour photo frontispiece + 1 further tipped-in colour photo and 40 black & white photo plates, 9 text illustrations, inscribed by the author (to actor Patrick Jordan) to half-title page, pages tanned. Red cloth. Dustwrapper worn with scuffed wear to spine,mark to lower front and tears with minor loss to corners and top and tail of spine, now in a removable clear protective wrap. Plus: Signed photo postcard, and photo funeral memorial card for Hermann Geiger - who died from injuries suffered in a fatal collision with a glider in 1966, at the age of 52. Also two small tanned newspaper cuttings (one about him being awared the Perry Medal by the Ski Club of Great Britain; and the other recording his death, loosely enclosed with the envelope addressed to Patrick Jordan. G+/G.** "Geigers was from Sion in Valais, Switzerland, the son of a farmer. His love of flying began at the age of ten when he went to an aviation club for the first time. He began working as a mechanic when he was fifteen at a garage. He built his own glider and took gliding lessons as a young man. In 1940, he trained to become a police officer, giving flying lessons in his spare time. He was the first man to land his plane on Kanderfirm, a 7,800-foot glacier in Switzerland. He modified his Piper plane with retractable metal skies, enabling him, after much practice, to land on glaciers and mountains where most would not dare. On 16 July 1953, he also successfully landed on the summit of Monte Rosa glacier." (wiki). ** Patrick Jordan appeared as "Mr Puckle" in the film SOS Gletscherpilot [SOS Glacier Pilot (1959)]. (IMDb).