Nov 21 at 12:00 PM - Sale 2687 -

Sale 2687 - Lot 43

Estimate: $ 600 - $ 900
(AVIATION.) Photograph of the first airplane to visit Auburn, NY, part of a record-setting St. Louis to New York trip. Silver print, 3¼ x 3¼ inches, laid down on original plain mount, minimal wear; captioned on framer's tag on verso; not examined out of original frame. Auburn, NY, 21 August 1911
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Additional Details

The caption on the frame verso reads "Harry N. Atwood over Owasco Lake, August 21, 1911. First aircraft to visit Auburn." Harry Nelson Atwood (1883-1967) was part of the first generation of trained aviators, having attended the Wright Flying School earlier that year. Just a few months later, he took this 1,256-mile flight from St. Louis to New York, making 11 stops over an 11-day period. Among the many newspapers covering his marathon was the 22 August Buffalo Courier. They described one of his scheduled stops in the large town of Auburn in central New York, which had raised a $500 purse to ensure a visit: "After crossing over the city, he circled about the grounds of the Owasco Golf and Country Club. . . . Descending he shook hands with a few persons at the club and then had dinner." Atwood told a reporter: "There were such crowds without sufficient police protection that I had to fight the people back. I thought they would destroy the aeroplane."

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