The Raymond Orteig Historical Archive consists of approximately 188 documents relating to the prize of 25,000 dollars offered by Raymond Orteig for the first nonstop flight from New York to Paris or from Paris to New York.
Scope and Contents:
The Raymond Orteig Historical Archive consists of approximately 188 documents relating to the prize of 25,000 dollars offered by Raymond Orteig for the first nonstop flight from New York to Paris or from Paris to New York. Included are the original entry forms of Rene Fonck, Clarence Chamberlin, Noel Davis, and Paul Tarascon. Telegrams and correspondence relating to the contest and its regulations are included, from such individuals as C. F. Schory, Secretary of the Contest Committee of the National Aeronautics Association; George Burleigh of the law offices of Delafield, Thorne and Burleigh; and Harry Knight of Knight, Dysart & Gamble Investment Securities. Other correspondents are Charles A. Lindbergh and Bert Acosta. Also included in this collection are a phonograph album sound track recording to the movie "The Spirit of St. Louis," starring James (Jimmy) Stewart and a 1918 Non-Partisan Ballot and a Republican Ballot from Sibley County, Minnesota, listing Charles A. Lindbergh for governor, a voter's certificate, ballot envelope, and return envelope.
Arrangement:
Arranged by type of material.
Biographical/Historical note:
Raymond Orteig (1870-1939) was a Frenchman who owned the Brevoort and Lafayette hotels in New York City. Enthralled by Alcock and Brown's transatlantic flight in 1919, Orteig put up a purse of $25,000 to the first aviator to fly nonstop from Paris to New York or New York to Paris. Orteig made his offer good for five years, but five years came and went without anyone accomplishing the feat. In 1926, Orteig extended the term of his offer for another five years. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh won the prize with his New York to Paris flight.
Provenance:
Stanley King, Gift, 2005, NASM.2005.0055
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Acosta, Bert; Alsterbend, Noah; Andrews, Roy Chapman; and selections from the Aircraft Yearbook [AYB] including "Chronology of Aeronautical Events" from 1921-1936, "Epochal Flights of 1927," "Wings for Women 1930," "History Making Flights of 1932," "Notable Flights of 1934," "The Navy Air Forces" (1938), "American Aviation in 1923 as Constrasted with Development Abroad," "Accidents - and the Lack of Air Law."
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Collection Citation:
Amelia Earhart: A Biography [Rich] Collection, Acc. NASM.1991.0003, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Victor Vernon was an aviation pioneer, flight instructor, U. S. Navy aviator, and airline executive. This collection consists of three scrapbooks that chronicle Vernon's aviation career.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of three scrapbooks that chronicle Victor Vernon's aviation career and include numerous photographs, with an emphasis on Curtiss flying boats, the Curtiss Model H America, the Curtiss rebuilt Langley Aerodrome, and Curtiss tractor type aircraft. Besides the photographs, the scrapbooks contain many newspaper clippings covering Vernon's involvement with Curtiss, and his association with the Oregon-Washington-Idaho Airplane Company, as well as correspondence with William (Billy) Mitchel, Glenn Curtiss, and C.R. Smith. Miscellaneous items include route charts, correspondence, and photographs relating to Colonial Airlines and American Airlines, photographs of Bert Acosta and Vernon's naval aviator certificates. There is also material relating to Vernon's hydroaeroplane.
Arrangement:
Scrapbooks are in original order, additional material is arranged by type.
Biographical / Historical:
Victor Vernon was an aviation pioneer who began his career on Curtiss flying boats. In 1915 Vernon went to Toronto, Canada with the Curtiss School to teach Canadian pilots. During World War I, Vernon served with the U. S. Navy as an aviator and test pilot for the Naval Aircraft Factory. From 1919-1920, Vernon was instrumental in forming the Oregon-Washington-Idaho Airplane Company. In 1930 Vernon joined Colonial Airlines, a division of American Airways. He remained with American Airlines as Personnel Director and Assistant to the President until his retirement in 1948.
Provenance:
Victor Vernon, Gift, unknown, NASM.XXXX.0221.
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection consists of a photo album and a scrapbook kept by Benjamin Scovill "Ben" Kelsey to document his life and aviation career. The collection also includes Kelsey's U. S. Army Air Forces "Air Route Manual: United States to Great Britain," dated May 25, 1942, prepared for use by the first flights of military aircraft across the North Atlantic in support of Operation Bolero.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of a photo album and a scrapbook kept by Benjamin Scovill "Ben" Kelsey to document his life and aviation career. The photo album measures approximately 12.25 by 9.5 inches and documents Kelsey's early flying career and other aviation activities he was involved in from the period of about 1920 to 1932. Many of the photographs were taken around Garden City, New York or in and around Connecticut. Aircraft depicted in the album include the Curtiss JN-4 Jenny, Standard (NJ) J-1, Bellanca WB-2 Miss Columbia, Dayton Wright DH-4 Mailplane, Irwin Meteorplane C-C-1, Alexander Eaglerock Biplane, Waco ASO, Martin (Glenn L.) MB-2, Ford 2-AT Air Pullman, Air Transport John Wanamaker, Sikorsky Standard-Sikorsky SN-1, Avro 504, Sikorsky S-31, Sperry Messenger, Burnelli (Remington-Burnelli) RB-1, Curtiss Oriole, Curtiss CR-1 Racer, Udet U 12 Flamingo, as well as numerous other models by manufacturers such as Fokker, Curtiss, Boeing, Stinson, and Sikorsky. Besides Kelsey, other notable aviators pictured in the album include Laura Bromwell, Charles S. "Casey" Jones, Lloyd W. Bertaud, Walter E. Johnson, Earl W. Fleet, Robert Stevens Fogg, Gus Graff, Bertrand Blanchard Acosta, Harold T. "Slim" Lewis, Harry Bradford Chin, Thea Rasche, Richard H. Depew, and Leigh Wade. The album also contains aerial photographs.
The scrapbook, which measures 11 by 16 inches, is mainly composed of newspaper clippings, but also includes magazine articles, photographs, correspondence, certificates and other ephemera. It covers the period of approximately 1934 to 1947 and documents Kelsey's military career during this period. Aircraft seen in the scrapbook include the Curtiss P-36 Hawk, Curtiss P-37 (Hawk 75I), Lockheed XP-38/P-38 Lightning, Douglas XB-19 (XBLR-2), Curtiss CW-21 Interceptor-Fighter, Bell XFM-1 Airacuda, and the Douglas C-54 Skymaster.
The collection also contains a U. S. Army Air Forces document, "Air Route Manual: United States to Great Britain," prepared by Air Movements Unit, Operational Intelligence Section AFDIS – A2, May 25, 1942 (Second Revision). This publication is a pilot's briefing document prepared in support of Operation Bolero. It was designed for use by a Lockheed P-38 Lightning pilot and provides detailed radio and navigational information for all airfields en route (U. S. and Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and the British Isles) including aerial photographs, prepared strip maps marked with the magnetic course to be flown, and general information. It also contains eight large sectional maps, two American Airlines Radio Range and Mileage Charts, and six Ordnance Survey of Great Britain Aeronautical Maps.
Arrangement:
The collection materials are grouped into two roughly chronological scrapbooks and one military document.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
