I know how you feel Herod: in the late 1950s I was given the Wonder Book of Aircraft, with some lovely pictures, and articles written almost to adult levels of technicality and language, far ahead of me at the time. It was at the time that Comets were still the only turbo-jet airliners, and obviously at a great turning point in aviation, and lots of photos of British planes being made and tested in their factories, and various engines on their stands. Heady stuff, but it got lost in a move within a few years.
Two years ago I found a copy at a boot fair, the cover painting of a Connie's nose wheel and a Pan Am Stratocruiser being re-fueled in the background caught my eye from a fair distance...re-united!