Group of 4 black and white photographs, 4½ x 6½ inches.

Designed by Smithsonian Institution Secretary Samuel Langley and built by his staff, the Langley Aerodrome made successful unmanned powered flights in 1896. With War Department financing, Langley developed the aircraft, and attempted manned flights in the fall of 1903. On both attempts the Aerodrome failed to fly. Shortly after, the Wright brothers made history with their flights.
Glenn Curtiss revisited the Langley Aerodrome in 1914, making extensive modifications, and trying to circumvent the Wright brothers' patent on aircraft. The present photographs, taken at Hammondsport, New York in May and June of 1914, document Curtiss' success.
Comprising: the machine ready for launching, May 28; a detail, showing propeller blades chipped at the tips; the aircraft and a crowd on the shore of Lake Keuka; the Aerodrome taking off or landing on water.