LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 Sept Grand Format Air & Space #669  / 

25001

Wright Brothers' Plane Fabric Swatch

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Transportation Start Price:125.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 800.00 USD
Wright Brothers' Plane Fabric Swatch
<B>Wright Brothers' Plane Fabric Swatch With Lester D. Gardner Document Signed,</B></I> framed to an overall size of 8.75” x 10.75”. This imprinted statement of authenticity is inscribed to Walter Bookins and reads as follows: “Original Fabric From Kitty Hawk 'Wright Flyer' Certification for Walter Bookins' When Orville Wright, at my suggestion, assembled the Kitty Hawk machine for the first time, in 1916, at the opening of the new buildings of M.I.T. in Cambridge, he found that the original fabric could not be used and substituted new fabric of the identical material. When he died, his executors found that he had preserved some of the original coverings of the wings and entrusted several pieces of this most valuable relic to me for distribution to notable aeronautical friends. I certify that this piece was used in the first successful flight in history by Orville Wright on December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, N.C.”. The frame's back panel further reads in print, “I send you with certification what I regard as the most valuable relic in aeronautical history. As very few of these relics can be presented and as they would always be a rare collectors item, I hope that you will have the gift framed with the certification and carefully preserved so that it will never get into the possession of anyone but you. And when you pass on, I hope that you will see that it remains in your family as Orville Wright would never have wanted it to be commercialized. ”This entire production is lightly toned and in very fine condition. Lester Gardner, a pioneer aviator, obviously took his charge as caretaker of the swatches quite seriously. The recipient of this piece, Walter R. Bookins, was the first pilot trained by the Wright Brothers. He went on to become the first instructor at the Wright Flying School and personally set numerous flying records before World War I. <I>From the collection of Cliff Henderson.</B></I><BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Framed - with Glass, Small (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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