Description:

Curtiss Glenn

Glenn Curtiss, early aviator, signed souvenir postcard showing him in Curtiss biplane

 

5.375" x 3.375" sepia postcard signed by aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss (1878-1930) as "Glenn H Curtiss," in top right corner. The California Art Co. (Santa Rosa, California) souvenir postcard dates from circa 1909, judging from the make of the biplane and its caption "Curtiss in His 8 Cylinder" located in stone in the lower right corner. The signature is dark, fluid, and elegant. The postcard is in very good condition, with one well-defined central crease. Minor mounting traces and surface roughness verso.

 

The postcard depicts Curtiss seated in the exposed cockpit of a biplane similar to that of his Curtiss No. 2 or "Reims Racer". The fragile looking metal framework of the fuselage resting on a tripod base seems primitive at best, but the plane flew well. Curtiss won the Gordon Bennett Cup air race at Reims, France in the Curtiss No. 2 in 1909. This plane, the successor of Curtiss No. 1 (also called the Gold Bug or Golden Flyer), was enhanced by an 8 cylinder engine, a lighter fuel tank, and an extended wing span.

 

Glenn Curtiss was always mechanically inclined. He tinkered with cameras, bicycles, motorcycles, and eventually early 20th century airplanes. He won numerous speed and distance prizes as a first class test pilot, inventor, and engineer. He flew his biplane, nicknamed June Bug, in the distance trial hosted by Scientific American in July 1908. Later, Curtiss left Alexander Graham Bell's Aerial Experiment Association and struck out on his own. His planes later filled skies during World War I and the interwar years.

 

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