Lot 22
(Wright Brothers) Very Rare Piece of Original Wing Fabric from the 1903 Kitty Hawk Airplane. A 1 1/2 inch square section of fine weave fabric originally used on one of the wings of the Wright Flyer which flew at Kitty Hawk in 1903. It is applied to a certificate of authenticity reading "When Orville Wright prepared the Kitty Hawk machine for public exhibition, the original fabric had to be replaced, as it had been under water during the Dayton Flood of 1913. He substituted new fabric of identical material. After his death in 1948, we found that he had preserved some of the original coverings of the wings. We certify that this piece of fabric was used by Orville and Wilbur Wright on 17 December 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in the world's first heavier-than-air flights in which man achieved free, controlled, powered, and sustained flight." It is signed by Harold Miller, Co-Executor of the Orville Wright estate and Ivonette Wright Miller, the Wright Brothers niece. With a magazine article showing a photo of Ivonette and an envelope inscribed "Merry Christmas to Mark Baker from Ivonette Wright Miller".
Estimated Value $2,000 - 2,500.
Ex-Sotheby's 26 June 1997 auction, lot 801 where it realized 1,178.75 Pounds. Sold with copies of the relevant catalog pages and invoice from the 1997 sale.
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| Realized $6,325 |
