301 - IMPORTANT COLLECTION OF MEMORABILIA BELONGING TO PILOT JACOB FRANCO (1891–1964), A FORMER CYCLIST WITH THE 3rd LINE INFANTRY REGIMENT

IMPORTANT COLLECTION OF MEMORABILIA BELONGING TO PILOT JACOB FRANCO (1891–1964), A FORMER CYCLIST WITH THE 3rd LINE INFANTRY REGIMENT Includes: - Rare insignia of the 121st Squadron, also used by the 21st Bombardment Aviation Regiment after the war. Made of silver-plated metal, featuring an owl and a crescent. Back features two attachment tabs. - Two model 1883 enlisted identification tags belonging to Jacob Franco. - Identification tag belonging to “Jacques” Franco, 1918 officer model. - Presumed insignia of the Champagne Aero Club. - Lapel pin from an “AAA” aviators’ association. Made of gilded brass with enamel. - Silver medal engraved with “TO MY NIECE IN MEMORY OF HER FIRST FLIGHT on June 20, 1914 ” - Two letters regarding the May 1 and July 27, 1914, bicycle scout competitions, announcing that the dates for the Seine department’s events had not yet been set, followed by his official registration. - Permanent authorization for Private Franco, a cyclist, to ride a bicycle. Attached is a photograph of Private Franco with his bicycle, alongside his comrades, in Brabant in the Argonne (1915). - Private Franco’s travel journal for the year 1915, featuring drawings of women and three profiles of “the Parisian woman,” depending on whether she is smiling at the “pioupious,” the officers, or the “pékins.” Includes three leave passes (1915) in Franco’s name. - Paper military aviator’s certificate awarded on August 5, 1917, to Private Jacob Franco. No. 7849. - Corporal Franco’s squadron logbook from 1917. - Large photograph (heavily worn) depicting Franco and one of his comrades in flight uniforms. - Various official letters. - Copy of the certificate authorizing the wearing of the Inter-Allied Medal. - Certificate for the Military Medal in the name of Sergeant Franco of the 34th Aviation Regiment (1923). Includes mailing tube and receipt of delivery. - Travel voucher stamped by the 21st Aviation Regiment. - Certificate of appointment as Knight of the Legion of Honor in the name of Lieutenant Franco (1932). Includes mailing tube. - Certificate for the Cross of Voluntary Military Service dated May 3, 1938, in the name of Lieutenant Franco. Registered under number 116. - Air Force ID card in the name of Jacob Franco (1935) with a passport photo. - Membership cards for the Burgundy Flying Club and the association “Les ailes mutilées” (1935 and 1939). - Program for the AORAA event in Rennes on June 19, 20, and 21, 1936. - ID card in the name of Jacob Franco (1946) with a passport photo. - 1951 ID card belonging to Mr. Robert Franco. - Two photo albums containing 47 and 75 photographs, some dedicated to A. Arnal. Several show Jacob Franco in uniform and in his cockpit. Views of airplanes, pilots, graves, and downed German aircraft. A view of an airplane painted with the insignia of the 121st Squadron. A view of a Russian officer. - A collection of 27 aerial photographs, including views of Damascus, Troyes (1918), and the Saint Avord camp. - Three X-rays of a tibia fracture sustained by aviator Arnal, annotated in pencil: “Accident on July 21, 1911—X-ray from December 23, 1911.” The accident occurred at the Blériot School in Étampes. - A fine collection of 110 photographs, some dedicated to “Father Arnal” or “Papa Arnal,” one to Franco, and numerous images of pilots and aircraft (some overexposed). Note: Franco had acquired photographs and mementos from the aviator Alphonse Arnal, who lived with him in Châlons-sur-Saône. Alphonse Arnal, who had attended the Blériot School in 1911—where he was a prominent figure—became a metal engraver. He died in 1932 of heart disease. He was one of the pioneers of aviation in his region. A significant collection of memorabilia belonging to the pilot Jacob Franco (1891–1964), formerly a cyclist in the 3rd Line Infantry Regiment