Three
New Historic Aviation Photograph and Document Collections
The collections described here
were introduced initially on the Web site www.dmairfield.org during
late fall 2006. The Web site analyzes, documents and brings to life the
people and aircraft that landed at the Davis-Monthan Municipal Airfield,
Tucson, Ariz., between 1925 and 1936. The people and aircraft are recorded
in the Register from the Airfield that lay open for signature during that
time.[1]
The collections today are owned and carefully
preserved by the primary authors of this article, who are the sons of the
original collectors. Many images in the collections are relevant to flight
activities at Tucson. The three owners (authors Cosgrove, Gerow, Russell)
contacted the webmaster (Hyatt) through his Web site and offered their
images to enhance the historic value of the Web site. Two of their fathers
(Cosgrove, Russell) were pilots who signed the Airfield Register
celebrated on the Web site. Author Gerow’s father photographed on the
west coast many of the same people and aircraft that passed through
Tucson. Working together preparing the images for the Web, and further
discussions, led us to believe the collections might have wider interest
and value if made available to historians in their entirety. This article
serves to introduce the rest of the collections.
The collections contain thousands of items,
including photographs, letters, brochures, cards, ribbons, jewelry, flags,
awards, certificates, technical manuals and other aviation memorabilia and
artifacts. The majority of items are from United States sources from the
1920s and ’30s. A sample of over 300 items from the collections appears
on the Web site. Whereas the Web sample is relevant exclusively to the
people and airplanes of the Davis-Monthan Airfield Register, there are
many more items in the collections not on the Web site that are germane to
other aspects of aviation beyond the Golden Age (e.g., WWI, WWII, later
military and civil air transport).
Most of the items are black and white photographs
of people, places and aircraft taken from just after the birth of aviation
through the mid-to-late 20th century. The majority can be dated during the
1920s and ’30s. Among the people of the collections are the movers and
shakers of aviation’s Golden Age. Maitland and Hegenberger, the pilots
and passengers of the "Josephine Ford" and the pioneer pilots of
Standard Air Lines are a few examples. Early aircraft manufacturers (e.g.,
Donald Douglas, Claude Ryan, Eddie Stinson) are represented, as are other
pilots and staff of early airlines, air racers, barnstormers and
entrepreneurs. Some previously unpublished images of female pilots are
among those of the Cosgrove collection.
Aircraft photographs include the "Spirit of St.
Louis," early Lockheeds, record-setting military craft of the period,
including the "Question Mark" and "Bird of Paradise" and the
Pitcairn autogiro flown on a record-breaking cross-country by Johnny
Miller in 1931. Southwestern airfield photographs of Tucson, San Diego,
Long Beach, Bakersfield, and Los Angeles’ Mines Field are included as
well. The 1928 Ford Reliability Tour and many air races are remembered
with preserved documents and photos. Much of the collections’ contents
are unpublished.
A good number of the images were taken by the
namesakes of the collections; some were not. The sample photos presented
are all identified one way or the other. For the collections as a whole,
some of the images are identified as to time, location, people or aircraft
shown. Other images have no such information. But that does not reduce
their usefulness to researchers who otherwise may be able to place or
identify them.
The documents of the collections include numerous
newspaper clippings featuring the original collectors and newsworthy
descriptions of their aviation careers as they progressed. Personal and
business letters, certificates and pilot certificates are also
represented throughout the collections.
Each collection is a treasure for historians. The
photos were taken generally with great informality regarding framing and
timing. Photographic techniques ranged from box camera snapshots and
corporate portraits to high-resolution, large format portrait and aerial
photographs of great clarity and rich depth. The spontaneity of many of
the photos, and the ability to discern details in their backgrounds, makes
the individual pictures add up to much more than the sum of their
collective parts.
In this article are presented six sample images
from each collection. They provide an exclusive introduction to this
valuable pictorial cross-section of civil, commercial and military
aviation. The documents, memorabilia and artifacts that comprise each
collection are unique to the birth, development, practice, lore and
outcomes of aviation during the 20th century.
The collections are available for qualified
research purposes. Individuals interested should contact the collection
owners (references 2-4) for access and collection content details.
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Adm Byrd’s Fokker F.VII
"Josephine Ford" on tour
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