Early Aviation photo LANGLEY 1903 MANNED AERODROME TEST Smithsonian WOODHOUSE

Description

offered by ......
CompanyStoreAntiques
of Rhode Island
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For auction:
From Henry Woodhouse Archive,
1920s copy by Woodhouse of 1903 photo of Samuel Pierpont Langley and pilot, Charles Manly
, on the platform of their Manned Aerodrome ("man carrying aeroplane") for the launch test on the Potomac River, Washington, DC.
I believe this is a 1920's copy (no later than 1930's) of the original 1903 photo, copy made by Henry Woodhouse, likely for publication in Aerial Age magazine. At that time Woodhouse wrote on the reverse, "Prof. Langely + (pilot) Manning". Of course, the pilot's name was Charles Manly, an honest and forgivable mistake from a time when we didn't have iphones right with us to check everything instantly.
Even though this may be a copy, it is one that is about 100 years old!
On a similar photo (not this one) Woodhouse wrote:
"Crude beginnings of great invention - The original Langley man-carrying aeroplane which now hangs in the Smithsonian Institute. It was successfully tested in 1903 by Samuel Pierpont, taking off from a house boat on the Potomac River."
Photo measures approx.: 4.5" x 7.5" (3.75 x 5 without black edging)
After the Glenn Curtis modifications and flights of 1914, the Smithsonian displayed the Aerodrome in its museum as the first heavier-than-air manned, powered aircraft "capable of flight."
From the Smithsonian website: "
In 1898, with a grant from the U.S. government, Langley began work on a full-scale aerodrome capable of carrying a human aloft.
Completed in 1903, the machine
was powered by a radial engine developing 52 horsepower. Two attempts were made to launch the machine by catapult into the air from the roof of a
large houseboat moored in the Potomac in October and December 1903
. On both occasions, the aerodrome fell into the water without flying. The pilot, Charles Matthews Manly, Langley’s chief aeronautical assistant, survived both crashes, but the aeronautical experiments of Langley had come to an end. In spite of later claims, there is no reason to believe that the full-scale Langley aerodrome was capable of flight."
From wiki: "With Smithsonian approval,
Glenn Curtiss extensively modified the Aerodrome and made a few short flights in it in 1914
, as part of an unsuccessful attempt to bypass the Wright Brothers' patent on aircraft and to vindicate Langley. Based on these flights, the Smithsonian displayed the Aerodrome in its museum as the first heavier-than-air manned, powered aircraft "capable of flight."
Please study the scans and photos.
Provenance: A few years ago, Company Store Antiques was fortunate to obtain a significant portion of the
Henry Woodhouse Archive
. Henry Woodhouse was a significant figure in early aviation and helped to found the Aero Club of America; he was an early advocate for the use of the aeroplane and was the publisher of such 1910's magazines as
Flying
and
Aerial Age
. We will be listing over one thousand original early aviation photos, early century press photos, negatives and documents over the next few months.
ALL ITEMS ARE ORIGINAL FROM THE WOODHOUSE COLLECTION!
We will try to list at least 3 items per day. We are selling this portion of our collection to support our research and writing for a forthcoming book on early aviation in New England.
Most auctions will start at 19.99, all with no reserve.
All auctions end after 9pm EST.
First class
insured and combined
shipping to USA is a flat fee of 4.99. International insured and combined shipping is a flat fee of 19.99 for all worldwide locations. At checkout, international buyers will also be given the option of selecting eBay's Global Shipping Program. We are more than happy to combine shipping!
We are established researchers in early aviation and are excited to share this archive with other enthusiastic collectors and archivists!
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