Orville Wright

Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 - January 30, 1948), historic American aviation pioneer, authentic autographed bank check, presented in a custom 16 x 20 inch frame, along with two original historical Wright Brothers artifacts.

The check is dated June 29, 1929 and hand signed by Orville Wright in bold black ink. Additionally included in the display is a small fabric section (approximately .25 x .25 inch) from the brother's "Wright Flyer," used in the historic flight at Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903, along with a nickel turnbuckle from an early Wright Brothers' plane which features eye-bolt screws at each end, measuring 8 inches in length.

Included provenance for the fabric swatch reads: "The relic bears a blue ink notation reading 'Fabric from Wright Brothers Kitty Hawk Harvey D. Geyer 3/2/51.' Period typing on the sheet above reads: 'All of the fabric for covering the original Kitty Hawk plane was muslin, purchased from Hunter & Hardy Dry Goods Store E. Third Street, Dayton Ohio, and known as Pride of the West muslin.'"

Provenance for the turnbuckle: From The Wright Brothers’ engines and their design by Leonard S. Hobbs, published by the Smithsonian Institution Press, City of Washington, 1971. "Louis P. Christman…was responsible for the Smithsonian drawings of the 1903 engine and also supervised the reconstruction of the 1905 Wright airplane…Christman worked directly with Orville Wright for a period of six weeks and had access to all the records and parts the Wrights had preserved…" This turnbuckle descended from the family of Louis P. Christman who was gifted this item by Orville Wright for his work in restoring the 1905 Wright Flyer. This lot will be accompanied by a description of the original purchase from the Louis Christman family via auction.

 A wonderful piece of aviation history!