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Naval History and Heritage Command

S-005 Eugene Ely Collection

S-005 Eugene Ely Collection, possibly compiled and donated by his wife Mabel in the 1930’s. Five scrapbooks, disassembled due to mold and deterioration of covers and bindings. Pages are numbered, pages without photos were not retained. Extensive coverage of early aviation, 1910-1911, early aviators including Glenn Curtiss, various aircraft including Curtiss Pusher, many personal photos of the Ely family. Photos of Ely’s first flight off the cruiser USS Birmingham (CL 2) in 1910, and his landing on USS Pennsylvania (ACR 4) in 1911. Many photos were assigned NH numbers, see NH records for more extensive caption information. Photos are captioned better in some albums than others, and appear to have been mounted out of sequence. Approximately two boxes of material. Location: Unit 61, Shelf 3.
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Title: Eugene Ely Collection
Caption: Collection photo number S-005.01: Eugene Ely seated in Curtiss pusher biplane, just before taking off from USS Pennsylvania (see also NH 77579)
Description: S-005 Eugene Ely Collection, possibly compiled and donated by his wife Mabel in the 1930’s. Five scrapbooks, disassembled due to mold and deterioration of covers and bindings. Pages are numbered, pages without photos were not retained. Extensive coverage of early aviation, 1910-1911, early aviators including Glenn Curtiss, various aircraft including Curtiss Pusher, many personal photos of the Ely family. Photos of Ely’s first flight off the cruiser USS Birmingham (CL 2) in 1910, and his landing on USS Pennsylvania (ACR 4) in 1911. Many photos were assigned NH numbers, see NH records for more extensive caption information. Photos are captioned better in some albums than others, and appear to have been mounted out of sequence. Approximately two boxes of material. Location: Unit 61, Shelf 3.
Accession #: S File
Catalog #: S-005
Donor: Mabel Ely
Copyright Owner: Naval History and Heritage Command
Related Content

S-005-A (includes photos NH 77490 – NH 77539, see NH series for detailed captions of individual photos)
Circa late 1910 early 1911. Airplane vs automobile race Columbia, SC. Plane crash by pilot Augustus Post. Pilot J.A.D. McCurdy. Ely landing on USS Pennsylvania and taking off. Ely receives award at Tanforan field, California, after his flights to and from Pennsylvania. Captain Charles F. Pond, Commanding Officer of Pennsylvania, opera star Luisa Tetrazzini, W.R. Brookins. Float planes. Early submarine shown diving and surfacing.

 

S-005-B (includes photos NH 77540 – NH 77555, see NH series for detailed captions of individual photos)
Circa 1909-1911. Some photos missing. Numerous locations around the United States. Many scenes of aircraft in the air, racing, and on the ground. Pete Peterson, pilots Glenn Curtiss, J.C. Mars, John McCurdy, Charles Willard, Hubert Latham, Tom Baldwin. Ely’s flight off the cruiser USS Birmingham, including the hoisting of the plane onto the temporary launching platform. Antonette, Bleriot, Curtiss, Wright aircraft. Ely in racing automobile. Wreckage of a Baby Wright airplane.  Automobile racer Slim Cannonball Murray.

 

S-005-C (includes photos NH 77556 – NH 77578, see NH series for detailed captions of individual photos)
Collection of post cards. Airplanes in flight and on the ground. Glenn Curtiss, J.C. Mars, Hubert Latham, Augustus Post, Whipple Hall, J.A.D. McCurdy, Chase Willard, James Ward, Captain Baldwin and his “Red Devil” plane,  J.A. Drexel, Graham-White in a Farnam, a Demoisselle aircraft, Native American Chief Iodine, Curtiss wins the Scientific American Trophy. Ely in a Curtiss races Parker in a Fiat automobile.  Theodore Roosevelt sitting in an airplane. Curtiss monoplanes and hydroaeroplanes. Ely’s groundbreaking flights from USS Birmingham and Pennsylvania. Very few of the postcards are inscribed – one was written by Ely to his wife telling her about a crash he had survived.

 

S-005-D (includes photos NH 77579 – NH 77597, NH 77499, see NH series for detailed captions of individual photos)
Photos of Ely’s landing and takeoff from USS Pennsylvania in 1911. Photos of Ely’s Curtiss Pusher biplane in flight and on deck. Scenes on board the ship including the crew and Captain Charles F. Pond, Ely’s wife Mabel. One image of an image. The majority of the photos in this album have been given an NH number.

 

S-005-E (includes photos NH 77598 – NH 77606, see NH series for detailed captions of individual photos)
Photos of Ely’s activities in 1911, as well as Mabel Ely and her family 1910 and earlier. Photos of Ely’s fatal crash in 1911. Aerial racing and demonstration flights. Thomas Baldwin, Bud Mars in Manila. Augustus Post. Automobiles and race cares. Mabel receives a medal.

 

Topic
  • Aviation
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  • Photograph
Wars & Conflicts
Navy Communities
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