A rare World War I Martinsyde Aviation (1908-1922) two-bladed airplane propeller, as used by the G102 Elephant. Laminated mahogany pegged construction, each central section with four bolt holes. Original shield form label attached, War Department stamped arrow and WD together with 'BEARDMORE MARTINSYDE'. Note: The Martinsyde G.100 'Elephant' and the G.102 were British fighter bomber aircraft of the First World War built by Martinsyde. The type gained the name 'Elephant' from its relatively large size and lack of manoeuvrability. The G.100 was gradually succeeded by the more powerful G.102 with a 160 hp Beardmore engine. Family provenance: This propeller comes from the family of Godfrey Gleeson Johnstone who was flying with the Royal Flying Corps when he was killed in action flying a Bristol Fighter on 30/1/18, a photo of G. G. Johnstone being sold with this lot, together with a silver medal farming certificate awarded to R. Johnstone of Motuotaria New Zealand, presumably this is Robert, Godfrey's father, as noted in the document attached.
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- Mahogany - Mahogany is a dense, close grained red-coloured timber from the West Indies and Central America. It was first imported into Europe in the the early 18th century and its use continued through the 19th century. It was popular for furniture making because of its strength, the wide boards available, the distinctive grain on some boards, termed flame mahogany and the rich warm colour of the timber when it was polished.. The "flame" was produced where a limb grew out from the trunk of the tree, and this timber was usually sliced into veneers for feature panels on doors, backs and cornices.
Some terms used to describe mahogany relate to the country from which it originally came, such as "Cuban" mahogany, "Honduras" mahogany etc. However unless the wood has been tested the names assigned are more a selling feature, rather than a true indication of the timber's origin.
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