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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

Series of flights from May through July, just after the opening of the Wright Flying School, probably Orville acting as instructor; Simms Station, Dayton, Ohio

Large crowd of spectators gathered at the edge of a field at Simms Station, Dayton, Ohio, where a series of flights were conducted from May through July, just after the opening of the Wright Flying School. A trolley car is visible in the background

Front view of Hawthorn Hill in winter; Dayton, Ohio

Front view of Hawthorn Hill in winter; Dayton, Ohio

Horace (Buster) Wright, son of Lorin Wright, nephew of Wilbur and Orville

Horace (Buster) Wright, son of Lorin Wright, nephew of Wilbur and Orville

Leontine Wright, daughter of Lorin Wright, niece of Wilbur and Orville, three-quarter length

Group picture of Orville Wright, Bishop Milton Wright, Katharine Wright, Earl N. Findley, nephew Horace Wright, John R. McMahon, and Pliny Williamson, on the porch of Orville's home, Hawthorn Hill; Dayton, Ohio

Group picture of Orville Wright, Bishop Milton Wright, Katharine Wright, Earl N. Findley, nephew Horace Wright, John R. McMahon, and Pliny Williamson, all seated on the lawn of Orville's home, Hawthorn Hill; Dayton, Ohio

Group picture of Orville Wright, Bishop Milton Wright, Katharine Wright, Earl N. Findley, nephew Horace Wright, John R. McMahon, and Pliny Williamson, on the walk of Orville's home, Hawthorn Hill; Dayton, Ohio

Group picture of Orville Wright, Bishop Milton Wright, Katharine Wright, Earl N. Findley, nephew Horace Wright, John R. McMahon, and Pliny Williamson, on the steps of Orville's home, Hawthorn Hill; Dayton, Ohio

Eleanor and Billy Prentiss and Enyeart Crume, Wright neighbors

Eleanor and Billy Prentiss and Enyeart Crume, Wright neighbors

J.G. Feight's birthday dinner

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