Arthur Chidley | Original illustration of a Vickers Type 170 Vanguard in Imperial Airways livery and two other historic aircraft, circa 1925, signed by the artist

Arthur Chidley—Imperial Airways

Original illustration of 3 historic aircraft

c. 240 x 200 mm (frame 308 x 258 mm), pencil and watercolour, signed by the artist on lower left, captioned in pencil at upper margin "Vickers Vanguard Type. 20 Scale", framed and glazed, some spotting, frame worn

The aircraft in Imperial Airways livery in the upper third of the composition appears to be a Vickers Type 170 Vanguard, described as the "world's largest passenger airplane" when it was handed over to the airline in 1925. The other aircraft in Imperial Airways livery, on the bottom right-hand side of the composition (with registration "G-EBMS") is a Handley Page W.10. The aircraft in question crashed into the English Channel on 21 October, 1926 during a scheduled flight from Croydon to Paris, owing to a starboard engine failure. Thankfully all 12 passengers survived, with the only casualty being a Pomeranian dog belonging to one of the female passengers. The aircraft in the middle of the composition appears to be a Farman F.60 Goliath, in Air Union livery.