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Orville Wright Typed Letter Signed. ... (Total: 2 )
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Description
Orville Wright Typed Letter Signed. Two pages, 6.62" x 10.87", Dayton, Ohio; October 19, 1937. Addressed to amateur aviator Fred L. Black, Wright responds to the recently published book on German aviator Gustave Whitehead and its controversial claim that Whitehead mastered the first powered flight before Wright. He writes, in part, "The book is interesting in showing how easy it is, after an interval of 35 years, to get affidavits on matters which are utterly false...I believe I told you of the statements of eye-witnesses secured by A.V. Roe to establish his claim to having been the first Englishman to fly. Unfortunately for Roe I had in my possession letters written by himself at the time that proved the statements of his witnesses false. Moore-Brabazon told me that he would have been helpless in refuting these statements, producing twenty-five years after the event, excepting for the evidence which I was able to furnish." Signed, "Orville Wright." Accompanied by a photograph of Orville's plane at a French exhibit.In this letter, Wright addresses rumors that resurfaced after the 1937 publication of Lost Flight of Gustave Whitehead, and an earlier article titled, "Did Whitehead Precede Wright in World's First Powered Flight?" published in Popular Aviation in 1935. In both cases, authors Stella Randolph and Harvey Phillips insisted that Whitehead had successfully made powered flights in 1901 and 1902, thereby asserting that the German aviator pioneered the motor-operated airplane before the Wright brothers' monumental flight in 1903. Although Randolph and Harvey based their conclusions on alleged eyewitness accounts, zero photographic evidence existed for Whitehead's supposed flight. Furthermore, Whitehead had gained a reputation at the turn of the century as an aviator who frequently issued press releases detailing successful flights without any concrete evidence to back up his claims. Accordingly, flight enthusiasts and historians largely dismissed the publications.
During the first decades of motor-powered flight, aviation pioneers across the world were quick to assert themselves as the first pilots in their country. In this letter, Wright mentions a scandal between John Moore-Brabazon, the first Englishman to pilot a motor-powered airplane, and A.V. Roe, a fellow aviator and plane manufacturer who challenged Moore-Brabazon for his title. Wright draws a parallel between Moore-Brabazon's predicament and his own issues with the claims in Randolph and Phillips' book.
Condition: Creased along folds. Toned along margins with minor ink marks to the top margins of both pages. Small tear at the bottom of the second page. The photograph has minor paper loss at the margins. Toning on verso with copyright stamp and pencil notations.
Auction Info
2024 April 5 Historical Manuscripts Signature® Auction #6285 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
April, 2024
5th
Friday
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