This collection consists both of photographs that appear in the book as well as additional research materials, including: correspondence, printed materials, photographs, and negatives.
Biographical / Historical:
Thom Hook's book, Shenandoah Saga was published in 1973. It was written to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the creation of the USS Shenandoah--the first American-built, helium-filled rigid airship. This book traces the history of the naval airship from its preplanning stages to its tragic crash on September 3, 1925.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Thomas Hook, Gift, 1985, 1985-0021, varies (including public domain)
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
"They were dependable" : airship operation World War II, 7 December 1941 to September 1945 / [prepared by the Naval Airship Training and Experimental Command]
Author:
United States Navy Naval Airship Training and Experimental Command Search this
... Deux conférences sur les aérostats et la navigation aérienne, par Gaston Tissandier: 1 L̊a météorologie en ballon; conférence faite au Congrès scientifique de Lille, le 21 août 1874. 2 L̊a direction des aérostats; conférence faite à la Sorbonne, le 3 mai 1883. Suivies du Catalogue des projections relatives aux aérostats
Sixteen photographs by Jesse Tarbox Beals of the aeronautical exhibits at the Automobile and Aero Clubs of America Joint Show held January 13-20, 1906, in the third-floor gymnasium of the 69th Regiment Armory, New York City.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of sixteen black and white photographs taken by photographer Jesse Tarbox Beals of the aeronautical exhibits at the Automobile and Aero Clubs of America Joint Show held January 13-20, 1906, in the third-floor gymnasium of the 69th Regiment Armory, New York City. Four duplicate prints are included in the collection for a total of 20 prints overall. The 13 mounted prints in the collection are embossed with Beals' name and studio address at the lower right corner; the unmounted prints have Beals' ink stamp on the reverse. All of the photographs were likely made during the day on Saturday, January 13, 1906, before the show opened to the public that evening. Some of the exhibits are seen in the midst of installation, notably the tetrahedral-cell kite designs of Alexander Graham Bell. In view 3, Bell and several of his associates (including Lewis Howard Latimer) can be seen posing with the kites for the camera; view 4 is a portrait of Bell alone.
Arrangement:
The photographs are arranged as if the photographer is moving around the exhibit space in a clockwise direction, starting and ending at the entrance from the Armory's south staircase at the southeast corner of the room.
Biographical / Historical:
The Aero Club of America (ACA) was the United States' oldest national aviation organization and is the mother organization from which all U.S. air sports organizations either directly, or indirectly, evolved. Founded in 1905, the ACA underwent reorganization in 1922, when it became the National Aeronautic Association (NAA). The club was the focal point of organized aviation in the U.S., and its early members were some of the most influential leaders in American science and industry. The ACA served United States aviation in a variety of roles and fostered the development of all forms of flight. It was the ACA, not the federal government, that began the practice of regulating flight safety by issuing flying licenses based on a demonstrated ability to competently operate a vehicle of the air. The ACA was also the first body of aviation experts in the U.S. to publicly endorse the efforts of the Wright Brothers and the club was instrumental in persuading Congress to fund military aviation.
In January 1906, seeking a larger venue for their Sixth Annual show, the Automobile Club of America chose the newly completed Sixty-ninth Regiment Armory building at 68 Lexington Avenue, between East 25th and East 26th Streets in lower Manhattan, New York City, and invited the newly-founded Aero Club of America (ACA) to participate. Vistors to the show would have found the Armory's massive Drill Hall filled with automobile exhibits, with two full-sized ACA balloons and an airship hanging overhead. The main ACA exhibit was housed in the Armory's two-story high gymnasium on the third floor of the administration section of the building. Suspended overhead were kites, balloons, balloon baskets, gliders, airships (all but one displayed with deflated envelopes), and various gliding and powered model aircraft; at floor level were engines, additional balloon baskets and fittings, and tables displaying instruments, literature, and a U.S. Patent Office exhibit of flying machine models dating from 1878 to 1889. At the south end of the room, Israel Ludlow's massive towed-glider flying machine (a man-carrying kite design) was displayed standing on end, as it was too large to display in flying configuration. Other aircraft on display included the Langley Aerodrome Number 5 ("Langley 1897 Aerodrome"), the Langley Quarter-scale Aerodrome ("Langley 1903 Aerodrome"), the Lilienthal (Otto) 1893 Glider, Hargrave (Australia) 1888 Compressed-Air Ornithopter, Herring 1902 Gasoline Biplane Model, Herring-Arnot 1897 Glider, Chanute (Octave) 1896 Biplane Glider, Pichancourt Model Ornithopter (1879), Keil 1905 Ballo-plane, Dr. Julian P. Thomas' airship, Alberto Santos-Dumont's airship No. 9 airship "La Baladeuse" (1903), Thomas Baldwin's airship "California Arrow," kites and weather balloons from the Blue Hill Observatory in Massachusetts, and balloons from Carl E. Myers, Maurice Mallet, and A. Leo Stevens. Alexander Graham Bell displayed a number of tetrahedral-cell kite designs in varying sizes, ranging from a 4-cell design to the 1300-cell "Frost King" kite. The walls of the room were decorated with a large number of photographs, including over 120 enlargements provided by consulting electrical engineer and aeronautical enthusiast William J. Hammer (predominantly views taken by Hammer in Paris, France, during the balloon competitions which were part of the 1900 Exposition Universelle), photographs loaned by fellow ACA member George Grantham Bain, and photographs provided by exhibitors and other ACA members including Carl E. Myers and John Brisben Walker. The show officially opened to the public at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 13, 1906, although members of the Aero Club were allowed to enter earlier at 4:00 p.m. Additional photographs (and possibly other of the gymnasium exhibit items) were installed later that night after the show had opened. The show concluded with a banquet on the evening of Saturday, January 20, 1906.
Jesse Tarbox Beals (1870-1942) was one of the first female news photographers. In late 1902, Beals had been hired as a photographer by the editor of The Buffalo Inquirer and The Courier in Buffalo, New York; two years later, the papers sent her on assignment to St. Louis, Missouri, to photograph the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Hard-working and tenacious, Beals was soon providing her photography of the Fair to other major publications including the New York Herald. In 1905, Beals moved to New York City, and opened a studio at 159 Sixth Avenue in Lower Manhattan.
Related Materials:
Early Aeronautical Newsclippings (Alexander Graham Bell) Collection, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0086, Series 3: Photographs, [Bell Photo Album], https://sova.si.edu/details/NASM.XXXX.0086#ref642. This photo album contains 22 Jessie Tarbox Beals photographs of the 1906 show: the 16 views seen in this collection (NASM.XXXX.0902), plus four additional views of the Aero Club exhibits in the Armory gymnasium, and two views of the Aero Club exhibits in the Armory's Drill Hall.
The surviving 24 x 36 inch photographic prints used in William J. Hammer's display on the walls of the Armory gymnasium are located in the William J. Hammer Collection, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0074, Series 2.7: Very Large Format Materials [39 x 50 x 2 inch large format drawer], Very Large Format Mounted Copy Prints (Photographs), https://sova.si.edu/details/NASM.XXXX.0074#ref825.
NASM Artifacts Displayed at the Show
Langley Aerodrome Number 5, A19050001000 ["Langley 1897 Aerodrome"].
From Santos-Dumont Airship No. 9: Clement V-2 Engine, A19080001000.
Provenance:
A. Leo Stevens?, Gift, Unknown, NASM.XXXX.0902
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
A full and correct description of this extraordinary machine, the first aerial ship, the Eagle : this stupendous machine is 160 feet long, 50 high, and 40 wide, constructed for establishing a direct communication between the capitals of Europe : the first experiment of this new system of aerial navigation will be made from London to Paris, and back again, early in August
This collection consists of 37 glass negatives, 22 glass lantern slides, and 4 transparencies depicting the life and career of Stevens, circa 1900-1915. There are also corresponding negatives and contact prints for these 63 images.
Biographical / Historical:
Albert Leo Stevens (1873-1944) was an accomplished balloonist and aviation pioneer. Stevens began making ascensions when he was twelve and began manufacturing balloons and dirigibles at the age of 20. Stevens was an exhibitor in parachute, balloon, dirigible, and human cannonball shows and also was a participant in races such as the Gordon Bennett Balloon Races. Stevens flew one of the very first successful dirigibles in the United States in 1906 and opened the first private airfield in the nation in 1909. In the latter part of his career, Stevens became a flight promoter and worked with such pioneering aviators as Harry Atwood, Harry Bingham Brown, George Beatty, and Harriet Quimby. Stevens also played a key role in the development of safety features for parachutes.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Chris and Maureen Lynch, Valhalla Aerostation, Purchase, 1997, 1997-0039, Public Domain
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Knabenshue, A. Roy (Augustus Roy), 1876-1960 Search this
Names:
Early Birds of Aviation (Organization). Search this
Knabenshue, A. Roy (Augustus Roy), 1876-1960 Search this
Extent:
3.6 Cubic feet (8 legal document boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Diaries
Drawings
Correspondence
Manuscripts
Photographs
Date:
circa 1890s-1960s
Summary:
This collection contains approximately three and a half cubic feet of material relating to the life and career of A. Roy Knabenshue. The collection includes correspondence, photographic material, drawings of aircraft, and flight records.
Scope and Contents:
The A. Roy Knabenshue Collection (accession XXXX.0136 and related accession XXXX.0370) contains approximately three and a half cubic feet of material relating to the life and career of a daring aeronaut and the United States' first successful dirigible pilot. The collection includes correspondence, photographic material, drawings of aircraft, and flight records. The material spans over seventy years, from the end of the nineteenth century to the nineteen-sixties.
The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) received these materials in several parts in the early 1960s. Material was donated by Mrs. A. Roy (Jane) Knabenshue and their son, Glenn Knabenshue. Original order, where identified, has been maintained.
Arrangement note:
Series 1: Personal
Subseries 1: Biographical
Subseries 2: Articles and Manuscripts
Subseries 3: Correspondence
Series 2: Career
Subseries 1: The Wright Company
Subseries 2: National Park Service
Series 3: Photographs and Scrapbooks
Series 4: Drawings
Series 5: Subject files
Series 6: Miscellaneous
Biographical/Historical note:
Augustus Roy Knabenshue was born July 15, 1876 in Lancaster, Ohio to Samuel S. and Salome Matlack Knabenshue. The family later moved to Toledo, Ohio where Roy's father became editor-in-chief of the Toledo Blade. It was there that Roy became interested in lighter-than-air flight after seeing a balloon ascension when he was five years old. His interest continued to grow in the years that followed and in 1899 he bought a captive balloon and its equipment. The next season, he began to take short leaves of absence from his job at Central Union Telephone Company and was operating his balloon at fairs and carnivals, charging attendees for ascensions. To protect his day job and spare his socially prominent family embarrassment, Knabenshue used the name "Professor Don Carlos" at his balloon engagements. By 1900, Knabenshue had begun to fabricate additional spherical balloons himself, for use in free ascensions.
In October of 1904, Knabenshue took a new balloon to Saint Louis to enter it in contests associated with the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. There he met Thomas S. Baldwin, who had brought his dirigible the California Arrow to the event. The airship proved incapable of take off with Baldwin at the controls, and the slimmer Knabenshue was asked to substitute as pilot. Possessing no experience with dirigibles, Knabenshue accepted Baldwin's instructions and on October 25 became the first person to successfully pilot a dirigible in the United States.
Roy Knabenshue's name would be associated with the term "first" many times in the next few years. In 1905, Knabenshue built his own airship, the Toledo I, and flew it at its namesake city on Independence Day. A month later, Knabenshue made the first flight of an airship over Manhattan, taking off from Central Park and circling the Times Building. On December 17, 1908, he made the first successful night flight of a dirigible in the United States.
By 1909, Knabenshue had teamed up with Lincoln Beachey to fly airships at various events. Beachey was to fly a Knabenshue dirigible a year later at the Los Angeles International Air Meet, held at Dominguez Field, Los Angeles, which Knabenshue was instrumental in organizing. Knabenshue also raced his own airship during the event, setting several records.
His success attracted the attention of the Wright brothers, who were considering entering the exhibition field. Knabenshue was hired to manage the Wright Exhibition Team beginning in 1910, and worked with the team periodically for the next few years. Associated professionally at times with Glenn Martin, Walter Brookins and James V. Martin, by 1917 he had formed the Knabenshue Aircraft Corporation to produce dirigibles, kite balloons and parachutes. During the First World War, this company made captive observation balloons for use by the United States Navy.
In 1933, Knabenshue began working for the National Park Service. His duties included surveying air routes, and the management of an autogiro project.
After suffering a heart attack in 1949, Knabenshue retired. He died on March 6, 1960, at the age of 83, and was buried at the Portal of the Folded Wings, Valhalla Memorial Park, North Hollywood, California. He had held Balloon License Number 31, Dirigible License Number 4, built ten airships and numerous balloons, was a prominent member of the Early Birds of Aviation, and had earned a significant place in American aviation history.
Provenance:
Mrs. A. Roy (Jane) Knabenshue, NASM.XXXX.0136.
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
This collection consists of drawings relating to Aaron A. Sargent's designs for an Aerial Ship in 1883
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of approximately eighteen sheets of drawings, descriptions and calculations relating to Aaron A. Sargent's designs for an Aerial Ship. These early dirigible designs are dated June 2, 1883 and are believed to have been drawn during Sargent's tenure as Minister to Germany.
Arrangement:
No arrangement; just one folder of material.
Biographical/Historical note:
Aaron Augustus Sargent (1827-1887) was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts. After working in the printer's trade in Philadelphia, PA, he moved to Washington, DC and became Secretary to a Member of Congress. He later owned a paper in Nevada City, CA and studied law there, subsequently serving as District Attorney and as Representative to the Thirty-seventh Congress. He served as a United States Senator from 1873-1879. In January 1878 he introduced to the Senate a bill that was to be adopted in 1920 as the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, granting suffrage to women. Sargent returned to California in 1880. He was appointed Minister to Germany (1882-1884) and thereafter practiced law in San Francisco, CA.
Provenance:
David I. and Janice Sargent Lamphier, Gift, 2000, NASM.2000.0032
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
