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Collection: Wright Brothers Collection: 1897-1928
Among the materials the Wright Brothers estate gave the Library of Congress in 1948 were 300 glass plate negatives and two nitrate negatives, most taken by the Wright brothers themselves between 1897 and 1928. About 200 views from 1900 to 1911 document their successes and failures with their new flying machines. The collection provides an excellent pictorial record of the Wright brothers laboratory, engines, models, experimental planes, runways, flights, and even their accidents. The collection also contains individual portraits and group pictures of the Wright brothers and their family and friends, as well as photos of their homes, other buildings, towns, and landscapes.
135 photos
Front view of flight 41, Orville flying to the left at a height of about 60 feet; Huffman Prairie, Dayton, Ohio
Orville seated in Wright airplane with Albert B. Lambert before takeoff; Simms Station, Dayton, Ohio
View of the camp building at Kitty Hawk from the northwest, showing the old building to the left and the newly constructed building on the right, with a window on its east side and outside wall braces visible on its west side
Childhood portrait of Wilbur Wright
Childhood portraits of Wilbur Wright
Orville Wright, age 34, head and shoulders, with mustache
Orville Wright, age 34, head and shoulders, with mustache
Wilbur Wright, age 38, head and shoulders, about 1905; one of the earliest published photographs of him
Magneto side of the Wright four-cylinder motor used in 1911
Close-up view of airplane, including the pilot and passenger seats
Right front view of glider in flight
Glider at Kitty Hawk
Orville Wright, Major John F. Curry, and Colonel Charles Lindbergh, who came to pay Orville a personal call at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio. June 22, 1927
Side view of flight 41, showing the machine traveling to the right, with double horizontal rudder in front and double vertical rudder behind, as Orville flew 12 miles at Huffman Prairie, Dayton, Ohio
Rear view of flight 46, Orville shown flying at a high altitude over Huffman Prairie, Dayton, Ohio.
Glider being prepared for flight by Orville and assistants; a number of reporters stand off to the right
Three-quarter left rear view of glider in flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
Tom Tate in front of camp building at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
Three-quarter left rear view of glider in flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
Front view of glider outside camp building at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
Left rear view of glider at a low altitude, showing the fixed vertical fin attached to a front strut; Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
Left rear view of glider at a high altitude; Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
Exterior view of the Wright Company factory; Dayton, Ohio