On Board Reading
The early years of Air-India International were ones without much on-board entertainment. No movies and no video screens, no personal entertainment systems. To help passengers pass their time the airline published a series of on-board reading material, the most popular being Foolishly Yours. With a remarkable dose of self-deprecating humor, the books were a must read, and always succeeded in drawing a hearty laugh from the reader.
Fun while flying
One of the very early Air-India International publications for passengers to pass time over the long journeys, this book as puzzles, crosswords, trivia and other interesting activities. Going by the route map published in this book, it was released sometime after May 1955 and before October 1956, after the Tokyo service was launched, and before the Sydney service.
202 x 140 mm, 24 pages. Litho printed in U.S.A..
202 x 140 mm, 24 pages. Litho printed in U.S.A..
What makes a Super Constellation
A companion book to Fun while flying, this book speaks about the special features of the Super Constellation aircraft.
202 x 140 mm, 8 pages. Litho printed in U.S.A..
202 x 140 mm, 8 pages. Litho printed in U.S.A..
Better Acquainted - Air-India
The first in a series of popular and collectable books, this was perhaps first published in the 1950s.
32 pages, 152 x 113 mm. Written by (Kooka?), Designed by JWT (E) Ltd., Printed at the Wagle Press, Bombay 1.
32 pages, 152 x 113 mm. Written by (Kooka?), Designed by JWT (E) Ltd., Printed at the Wagle Press, Bombay 1.
Foolishly Yours (First design)
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A rare first design publication of Foolishly Yours, said to be dated 1950s. The book is on left, and the envelope in which it was packed is on top.
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36 pages, 152 x 113 mm. Written by S. K. Kooka, Illustrated by M. Umesh Rao, Published by J. Walter Thompson Company (Eastern) Ltd., Bombay, and Printed by S. Ramu at the Commercial Printing Press.
Foolishly Yours (Second design)
The second design on Foolishly Yours appeared during the 1960s, and went through multiple re-prints.
It was a big hit, and a bestseller in it's own right. Four million copies were printed in all, perhaps of both designs combined.
36 pages, 152 x 113 mm. Written by S. K. Kooka, Illustrated by M/s. J. Walter Thompson Company, Bombay.,
Published by Air-India, Printed at Uniform Printing Press, 41, Tamrind Lane, Bombay - 1.
It was a big hit, and a bestseller in it's own right. Four million copies were printed in all, perhaps of both designs combined.
36 pages, 152 x 113 mm. Written by S. K. Kooka, Illustrated by M/s. J. Walter Thompson Company, Bombay.,
Published by Air-India, Printed at Uniform Printing Press, 41, Tamrind Lane, Bombay - 1.
This makes no sense!
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A worthy successor to Foolishly Yours, it is thought to be published in 1974. The book is on left, and the envelope in which it was packed is on top.
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48 pages, 175 x 122 mm. Written by S. K. Kooka, Drawings by S. S. Sawant under the supervision of S.K.K., Cover design by B. Merwan, Published by Air-India, Printed by The Uniform Offset Pvt. Ltd., Bombay.
The making of This makes no sense!
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Top left: A hand drawn and hand colored cover illustration used for the book mock-up.
Top right: A printed copy marked Proof copy, 2nd proof copy in Kooka's hand writing.
Below: Hong Kong's South China Morning Post did not have much to say about the book,
so they just copied large portions of it in their review on 11 March 1977.
(Apologies for the poor quality of the image, but this was actually found on poorly preserved Thermographic Paper)
Top right: A printed copy marked Proof copy, 2nd proof copy in Kooka's hand writing.
Below: Hong Kong's South China Morning Post did not have much to say about the book,
so they just copied large portions of it in their review on 11 March 1977.
(Apologies for the poor quality of the image, but this was actually found on poorly preserved Thermographic Paper)
Let's Have An Affair-India
26 pages, 154 x 146 mm. An Illustrated booklet with cartoon pictures on the right side, and catchy titles on the left hand side pages.
Illustrations & Captions: David Gentleman; Cover & Layout: Air-India Art studio. Printed in India 1971; Air-India Press, Bombay-29.
Illustrations & Captions: David Gentleman; Cover & Layout: Air-India Art studio. Printed in India 1971; Air-India Press, Bombay-29.
Back again! ME as me ...
ND, 12 pages, 120 x 170 mm. A thin booklet with Maharajah cartoons in colour on all pages with one liners below each cartoon.
Printed in India at the Commercial Printing Press Limited, 34-38 Bank Street, Fort, Bombay 1.
Printed in India at the Commercial Printing Press Limited, 34-38 Bank Street, Fort, Bombay 1.
I see, I think, I sing
A colorfully illustrated rhyme book for children. Presented With my Salaams by Air-India
16 pages, 242 x 178 mm. The book was published in 1972, and is written my Deepak Mankar, Pictures by Sanat Surti, Printed at Thompson Press (India) Limited, Faridabad, Haryana.
16 pages, 242 x 178 mm. The book was published in 1972, and is written my Deepak Mankar, Pictures by Sanat Surti, Printed at Thompson Press (India) Limited, Faridabad, Haryana.
Needs more study (work in progress)
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I got hold of two very interesting artefacts from the Kooka collection. However, I still do not know much about these, and need to research a little more. Should be able to post more information on these over time.
Top left: Forbidden Reading. This appears to be an alternative to This makes no sense! It is 174 x 168 mm, and the few pages inside seem to have the same illustrations and content as the other book.
Top right: There is an Air about India. This is a thick drawing book, 210 x 138 mm. It consists of hand drawn sketches, on each of the right hand side page, and a catchy one liner on each of the left hand side pages. Seems to date to the mid -1970s, the book also contains illustrations used in This makes no sense!.
Top left: Forbidden Reading. This appears to be an alternative to This makes no sense! It is 174 x 168 mm, and the few pages inside seem to have the same illustrations and content as the other book.
Top right: There is an Air about India. This is a thick drawing book, 210 x 138 mm. It consists of hand drawn sketches, on each of the right hand side page, and a catchy one liner on each of the left hand side pages. Seems to date to the mid -1970s, the book also contains illustrations used in This makes no sense!.