Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
This topic caught my eye, because the 1909 Hudson Fulton is a celebration from which I have long sought some material to collect.
Specifically, I'm looking for items that commemorate the competition between Wilbur Wright and Glenn Curtiss on an endurance flight (more below), or Glenn Curtiss' flight down the Hudson River from Albany to New York, in his Hudson Flyer which occurred on Sunday May 29, 1910, after many delays. There were no more than 100 spectators on hand for his take off, but there was a special excursion train (New York Central) that attempted to follow the flight on the tracks along the river. As well, Curtiss carried a letter in his vest pocket from the mayor of Albany to mark the occasion. By successfully completing this non-stop flight, he won a $10,000 prize (almost $300,000 in today's money!!!).
I doubt if there were any commemorative postcards printed, but surely SOMEONE must have been inspired enough to write and send a letter describing this momentous occasion. I have never seen a single item in the marketplace, and I've been looking for more than 3 years. I would pay several $hundred for the 'right' piece...
And, now, the "Governor's Island" affair. Curtiss had just returned to New York (on September 21) from his victory at the first major flying competition in the world, the Grande Semaine d'Aviation which took place in late August, 1909 in Reims, France. He had won the Gordon Bennett trophy (and a $5000 prize), narrowly beating Louis Bleriot in a speed race. He was widely celebrated as an international hero.
The competition was to fly from Governor's Island, over Manhattan and up the Hudson River, circle a buoy near Grant's Tomb, and safely return, a distance of about 20 miles. These were to be the first overwater flights in America, over the busiest harbor in the world, in which now 1595 vessels were berthed as participants in the celebrations! Curtiss' Rheims Racer was not available for use, as his agent had been paid $5000 for exhibit of the plane in New York and Philadelphia Wanamaker department stores, 2 weeks at each store. This was Wilbur Wright's first public flying appearance. It was to be a flying stand-off between the Wright Flyer and Curtiss' plane emblematic of the then legal stand-off between the two companies. By the terms of the contract, the flights had to happen between September 25 and October 2 (Curtiss) or October 9 (Wright). Wright was to be paid $15,000 and Curtiss, $5000.
The first good flying day was Wednesday, September 29. Curtiss took off, but quickly aborted his flight after 300 yards, his propeller unsuitable. Later, Wright took off, circled the Statue of Liberty at the level of her knees and returned, a flight of 2.5 miles. The rest of the week, it was too windy to fly. Curtiss made another unofficial, abortive attempt on Sunday, October 3. On Monday morning, Wright took off, flew up the River at an altitude of 200 feet, flew 1000 feet past Grant's Tomb, and returned to safely land on Governor's Island. As he was warming his engine for a second flight that day, a cylinder head blew off, and no further flights were attempted.
By that time, Curtiss' airplane was crated and riding on a ferry, beginning its voyage to St. Louis for flying demonstrations he had contracted for there.
Here again, hundreds of thousands must have witnessed the flying demonstrations (including dirigibles) over and around Manhattan in early October, 1909. There must be some material out there to discover...
Here is a photo of Wilbur Wright, in flight, taken at the 1909 Hudson Fulton celebration:
"How can you tell?" you might ask. See the canoe suspended below the lower plane? That was a feature of the plane used, a precaution against an emergency water landing!
-Paul
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"I doubt if there were any commemorative postcards printed, but surely SOMEONE must have been inspired enough to write and send a letter describing this momentous occasion. I have never seen a single item in the marketplace, and I've been looking for more than 3 years. I would pay several $hundred for the 'right' piece..."
Paul- there have to be commemorative postcards! There were sets from Worlds Fairs as bar back at 1893.. and 1909 was in the heyday of postcard collecting.
And I agree with you on the letter part.. I love old messages. I recently posted about the difference between Worlds Fair promotional cancellations, and actual show station cancels.. and it's fun to see the messages from visitors describing their day. I just had a chuckle.. I recently saw a card from the 1939 NY Worlds Fair, written by a woman to her son... "Wish you were here with us! But this whole fair thing is really boring!" Um, you are at the frickin worlds fair!
Let's ask Phil, I think he said he was there in 1909!
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Close wiseguy...my future wife and i were at the 1964/65 fair..my folks "knew somebody" and got their tickets to the 1939 fair for free. i think the tickets cost 50 cents.
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This is way, WAY off topic, but you guys brought up the World's Fair. I inherited this little item from my mother, who was born in 1931:
Seems to be a souvenir of the 1934 World's Fair, in Chicago. Mom was born in a Chicago suburb. The vignettes on the bracelet read:
PUNCH JUDY
CLOWN
GIANT
MAGIC MT.
JUMBO
ENCHANTED ISLAND
STRAW MAN
PLAY GROUND
FAIRY LAND
PLANES
Phil, let me know if I should move this posting to a different topic.
-Paul
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I've always been fascinated with the Worlds Fairs and the elaborate grounds and buildings erected for a temporary event!
Buildings still exist that were built for the 1893 Columbian Exhibition. The New York Worlds Fairs in 1939 and 1964-5 were on the same grounds. Buildings and such built for 1939 were incorporated into the 1964 fair. In fact one of the buildings was the first home to the United Nations when it was established. The building is a museum today, if I remember correctly.
In my life being a facility manager to large pharma, I've always been involved in new buildings and renovations. As I refused to approve some shoddy proposal, people would reason "it's only temporary!" and I'd respond, "The Eifel Tower was a temporary structure!"
BTW, I was at the 1964-5 Worlds Fair too! I have a souvenir bag (size of a bowling ball bag) from the visit!
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10:22:55am
re: Hudson Fulton Celebration 1909
This topic caught my eye, because the 1909 Hudson Fulton is a celebration from which I have long sought some material to collect.
Specifically, I'm looking for items that commemorate the competition between Wilbur Wright and Glenn Curtiss on an endurance flight (more below), or Glenn Curtiss' flight down the Hudson River from Albany to New York, in his Hudson Flyer which occurred on Sunday May 29, 1910, after many delays. There were no more than 100 spectators on hand for his take off, but there was a special excursion train (New York Central) that attempted to follow the flight on the tracks along the river. As well, Curtiss carried a letter in his vest pocket from the mayor of Albany to mark the occasion. By successfully completing this non-stop flight, he won a $10,000 prize (almost $300,000 in today's money!!!).
I doubt if there were any commemorative postcards printed, but surely SOMEONE must have been inspired enough to write and send a letter describing this momentous occasion. I have never seen a single item in the marketplace, and I've been looking for more than 3 years. I would pay several $hundred for the 'right' piece...
And, now, the "Governor's Island" affair. Curtiss had just returned to New York (on September 21) from his victory at the first major flying competition in the world, the Grande Semaine d'Aviation which took place in late August, 1909 in Reims, France. He had won the Gordon Bennett trophy (and a $5000 prize), narrowly beating Louis Bleriot in a speed race. He was widely celebrated as an international hero.
The competition was to fly from Governor's Island, over Manhattan and up the Hudson River, circle a buoy near Grant's Tomb, and safely return, a distance of about 20 miles. These were to be the first overwater flights in America, over the busiest harbor in the world, in which now 1595 vessels were berthed as participants in the celebrations! Curtiss' Rheims Racer was not available for use, as his agent had been paid $5000 for exhibit of the plane in New York and Philadelphia Wanamaker department stores, 2 weeks at each store. This was Wilbur Wright's first public flying appearance. It was to be a flying stand-off between the Wright Flyer and Curtiss' plane emblematic of the then legal stand-off between the two companies. By the terms of the contract, the flights had to happen between September 25 and October 2 (Curtiss) or October 9 (Wright). Wright was to be paid $15,000 and Curtiss, $5000.
The first good flying day was Wednesday, September 29. Curtiss took off, but quickly aborted his flight after 300 yards, his propeller unsuitable. Later, Wright took off, circled the Statue of Liberty at the level of her knees and returned, a flight of 2.5 miles. The rest of the week, it was too windy to fly. Curtiss made another unofficial, abortive attempt on Sunday, October 3. On Monday morning, Wright took off, flew up the River at an altitude of 200 feet, flew 1000 feet past Grant's Tomb, and returned to safely land on Governor's Island. As he was warming his engine for a second flight that day, a cylinder head blew off, and no further flights were attempted.
By that time, Curtiss' airplane was crated and riding on a ferry, beginning its voyage to St. Louis for flying demonstrations he had contracted for there.
Here again, hundreds of thousands must have witnessed the flying demonstrations (including dirigibles) over and around Manhattan in early October, 1909. There must be some material out there to discover...
Here is a photo of Wilbur Wright, in flight, taken at the 1909 Hudson Fulton celebration:
"How can you tell?" you might ask. See the canoe suspended below the lower plane? That was a feature of the plane used, a precaution against an emergency water landing!
-Paul
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re: Hudson Fulton Celebration 1909
"I doubt if there were any commemorative postcards printed, but surely SOMEONE must have been inspired enough to write and send a letter describing this momentous occasion. I have never seen a single item in the marketplace, and I've been looking for more than 3 years. I would pay several $hundred for the 'right' piece..."
Paul- there have to be commemorative postcards! There were sets from Worlds Fairs as bar back at 1893.. and 1909 was in the heyday of postcard collecting.
And I agree with you on the letter part.. I love old messages. I recently posted about the difference between Worlds Fair promotional cancellations, and actual show station cancels.. and it's fun to see the messages from visitors describing their day. I just had a chuckle.. I recently saw a card from the 1939 NY Worlds Fair, written by a woman to her son... "Wish you were here with us! But this whole fair thing is really boring!" Um, you are at the frickin worlds fair!
Let's ask Phil, I think he said he was there in 1909!
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re: Hudson Fulton Celebration 1909
Close wiseguy...my future wife and i were at the 1964/65 fair..my folks "knew somebody" and got their tickets to the 1939 fair for free. i think the tickets cost 50 cents.
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05:13:39pm
re: Hudson Fulton Celebration 1909
This is way, WAY off topic, but you guys brought up the World's Fair. I inherited this little item from my mother, who was born in 1931:
Seems to be a souvenir of the 1934 World's Fair, in Chicago. Mom was born in a Chicago suburb. The vignettes on the bracelet read:
PUNCH JUDY
CLOWN
GIANT
MAGIC MT.
JUMBO
ENCHANTED ISLAND
STRAW MAN
PLAY GROUND
FAIRY LAND
PLANES
Phil, let me know if I should move this posting to a different topic.
-Paul
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re: Hudson Fulton Celebration 1909
I've always been fascinated with the Worlds Fairs and the elaborate grounds and buildings erected for a temporary event!
Buildings still exist that were built for the 1893 Columbian Exhibition. The New York Worlds Fairs in 1939 and 1964-5 were on the same grounds. Buildings and such built for 1939 were incorporated into the 1964 fair. In fact one of the buildings was the first home to the United Nations when it was established. The building is a museum today, if I remember correctly.
In my life being a facility manager to large pharma, I've always been involved in new buildings and renovations. As I refused to approve some shoddy proposal, people would reason "it's only temporary!" and I'd respond, "The Eifel Tower was a temporary structure!"
BTW, I was at the 1964-5 Worlds Fair too! I have a souvenir bag (size of a bowling ball bag) from the visit!
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