Historic 5.5 x 4 cardstock photo of the Wright Brothers’ first flight, signed in fountain pen at lower left, “Orville Wright.” Double cloth matted and framed with a photo of the Wright Brothers walking together and a block of four six-cent United States postage stamps honoring the Wrights, to an overall size of 12 x 22.5. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope, bearing Wright’s printed return address, postmarked Dayton, Ohio, 1930. In fine condition. After broken propeller shafts caused weeks of delays at Kitty Hawk, Wilbur, winning a coin toss, made an unsuccessful flight attempt on December 14, 1903, damaging the Wrights’ “Flyer.” After making repairs, the Wrights finally took to the air on December 17, making two flights each from level ground into a freezing headwind gusting to twenty-seven miles an hour. Orville, making the historic first flight recorded in this photo, achieved a distance of 120 feet in twelve seconds. The civilization-changing moment in history captured in the famous first-flight photos has granted them a special cachet among collectors of aviation memorabilia—and fueled intense competition for the ever-dwindling supply of attractive signed examples. Auction LOA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
