Skip to main content

This auction has ended. View lot details

You may also be interested in

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

Lot 66

WRIGHT BROTHERS AT KITTY HAWK.
ORIGINAL 1903 PHOTO SIGNED BY ORVILLE WRIGHT.
Original Signed Photograph ("Orville Wright"), silver gelatin print, 4 x 5 1/2 inches, by John T. Daniels of the Wright Flyer, December 17, 1903, 10:35 a.m.,

3 – 4 November 2021, 13:00 PDT
Los Angeles

Sold for US$4,080 inc. premium

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

How to sell

Looking for a similar item?

Our Books & Manuscripts specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.

Find your local specialist

Ask about this lot

WRIGHT BROTHERS AT KITTY HAWK.

ORIGINAL 1903 PHOTO SIGNED BY ORVILLE WRIGHT.
Original Signed Photograph ("Orville Wright"), silver gelatin print, 4 x 5 1/2 inches, by John T. Daniels of the Wright Flyer, December 17, 1903, 10:35 a.m., on Kodak Velox paper, matted with image of the Wright Brothers in 1910.

One of the most famous photographs taken of the first successful powered flight of the Wright Flyer at the Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk. Orville Wright pilots the plane while Wilbur Wright stands beside. The photograph was taken by local John T. Daniels.
"Orville now positioned himself on his stomach at the controls, as Wilbur had, while Wilbur stood to the right at the tip of the lower wing ready to help keep the machine in balance as it started down the track. Minutes passed while the engine warmed up. As they would later emphasize neither had any 'previous acquaintance' with the conduct of the machine and its controlling mechanisms.
At exactly 10:35, Orville slipped the rope restraining the Flyer and it headed forward, but not very fast, because of the fierce headwind, and Wilbur, his left hand on the wing, had no trouble keeping up.
At the end of the track the Flyer lifted into the air and Daniels, who had never operated a camera until now, snapped the shutter to take what would be one of the most historic photographs of the century" (McCullough. The Wright Brothers. NY: 2015).

Additional information

Bid now on these items

Signed to Spencer Tracy 1952 Hemingway, Ernest. 1899-1961. The Old Man and the Sea, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1952.

A Presentation Copy of Kennedy's First Book to Spencer Tracy. Kennedy, John F. 1917-1963. Why England Slept. New York: Wilfred Funk, Inc., 1940.

ADVERTISING POSTERfor 'The Suffragette' newspaper, [c.1913-1914]

ILLUMINATED ADDRESS – CLARA CODD Illuminated printed address signed by Emmeline Pankhurst, [1909]

MUSIC & RECORDINGS – ETHEL SMYTH Collection of printed music, song sheets and records, [c.1911-1912]