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a book with a picture of a bird on ita stack of books sitting on top of a wooden tablean old photo of a group of men posing for a pictureseveral black and white photos of a man and a woman in front of an airplanean old black and white photo of a group of photographsseveral black and white photos of an old airplane in flightan old black and white photo of a group of people on a beachan old black and white photo of a boat in the oceanseveral black and white photos of a beach with a mountain in the distancea black and white photo of a group of boats in the wateran old photo of a bunch of photos on a piece of paperan old black and white photo of a group of people posing for a picturean old black and white photo of a group of people standing in front of a housean old photo of a man and a woman standing next to each othera black and white photo of a man and a woman in uniformseveral black and white photos of a man sitting on top of a bookan old black and white photo of two men in military uniformsan old black and white photo of a group of people posing for a pictureblack and white photograph of a woman standing in front of a field of tall grassblack and white photograph of a man and a woman in military clothingan old black and white photo of a bunch of pictures of buildingsan old black and white photo of a bunch of old photosan old photo of a group of people standing in front of a buildingtwo old black and white photos of a plane in the skyan old black and white photo of a couple of men standing next to each otheran old black and white photo of a group of men posing for a picturean old photo of a plane flying over a body of wateran old photo of a group of photos of a boat in the waterseveral black and white photos of a beach with waves in the wateran old black and white photo of an aerial view of a cityan old photo of a group of photos of a beachan old photo of a group of photographs of people on a beachan old black and white photo of a man sitting on a bench in front of a buildingan old photo of a group of photographs of a tent and treesa black and white photo of a baseball team posing for a picturetwo old black and white photos of a man holding a baseball batseveral black and white photos of an airplane on a piece of paperseveral black and white photos of a plane flying over a body of watera black and white photo of an old airplane on the groundseveral black and white photos of airplanes flying in the skyseveral black and white photographs of a plane in a boxseveral black and white photos of a plane flying over a fielda black and white photo of an old airplane on the groundan old photo of a bunch of photos on a piece of papera picture of a picture of a plane on the wallan old photo of a black and white photo of a cityan old picture of a black and white photo of a streetsome old papers and letters are sitting on a tablean old photo of a group of men in uniform posing for a pictureseveral old papers are stacked on top of each other on a table
Maître Lydie BRIOULT

Photograph album of Lieutenant Sybeth Custer, 307th Bomb Gro…
See original version (French)

Estimate €300 - €400
Sale commission
Description
Photograph album of Lieutenant Sybeth Custer, 307th Bomb Group – 13th Air Force – Morotai in Indonesia and Luzon in the Philippines (200 original photographs, including 39 large-format images taken in flight during missions) This officer served as a bombardier within a B-24 Liberator crew in the famous ‘Long Rangers’ group, which specialised in long-range missions. The album’s structure consists of three separate wooden sections, which are still intact. The leather laces that once held the whole thing together have given way over the years. The album begins with a large photograph of his crew, in which each crew member is identified; Custer is kneeling, second from the right. The first section of the photographs is of average quality, evidently due to the particular conditions under which they were taken. However, they do show large-scale landing operations with formations of ships covering the sea. A number of family photographs taken in the United States at various stages of Custer’s training round off these opening pages. In particular, one shows Custer in his USAAF cadet uniform, wearing a gunner’s badge (a role for which he was trained, given his position in the aircraft’s glazed nose), posing with his mother. A young woman wearing a bombardier’s badge on her chest suggests that she may be his fiancée. Other photographs show Custer, having been promoted to the rank of lieutenant, proudly displaying the same badge. Several photographs show the damage sustained by various ships. It appears to be Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Japanese prisoners can also be seen with their hands on their heads. One photograph in a series showing junks reveals the shadow of a B-24 Liberator cast on the ground. Another large-format photograph shows the crew in the Philippines, where Custer, kneeling, is wearing a T-shirt bearing the USAAF insignia. The photographs in which he is seen wearing his A-2 leather jacket with squadron insignia are, unfortunately, of poor quality. Several other photographs show various aircraft operating in the Philippines: the P-38 Lightning, PB4Y-2 Privateer, B-25 Mitchell and C-47 Skytrain; however, the standout feature of this album is a long series of large-format, high-quality photographs taken during various bombing raids. Whilst the dates have been cut out for reasons of censorship, the locations bombed are all indicated. These are mainly Japanese airfields in Celebes and Borneo, which housed, in particular, oil facilities vital to Japan’s fuel supply. One of these photographs bears, on the reverse, a note in the heavy pencil typical of the period, stating the date 5 July 1945, the unit number 307th BG, and the location of Balikpapan in south-eastern Borneo, where the final American landing operation took place. A folder containing various period documents and a telegram in which the name ‘Custer’ appears completes the set. (Grégory Pons Collection) (full photo file available on request)
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About the sale Sale of the Grégory Pons collection and miscellaneous items (Aviation and WW2 Militaria)
Auction location
Auction time 11/14/2026 at 1:30 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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