Wright Brothers collection, 1867-2006 (bulk 1903-1956).
Wilbur and Orville Wright built their own printing presses and published several weekly and daily papers. They also formed the Wright Cycle Co. selling and repairing bicycles. The money earned in their printing and bicycle businesses financed their experiments in flying. During the years 1900 and 1901, they built their first two gliders and took them to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina to test them. On December 17, 1903, Orville made the first flight in a power-driven, heavier than air machine at Kitty Hawk.The collection is comprised of published material, photographs, and some correspondence, primarily from the period following the first Wright brothers flight on Dec. 17, 1903. Material covers the Wright-Langley controversy, the Wright Aeronautical Corporation, Henry Ford's purchase of the Wright Cycle Shop, and the dedication of the Wright home and cycle shop at Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan, 1938.Bulk of the material acquired in conjunction with acquisition of the Wright Cycle Shop in 1936. Additional acquisitions in 1985 and 2006. Accession 1623.The collection is open for research.Finding aid available in the Benson Ford Research Center reading room and on the Internet.Item, folder, box, Accession 1623, Wright Brothers collection, Benson Ford Research Center, The Henry Ford.See also Accession 183, Greenfield Village Buildings records collection and Accession 1929, Edison Institute photographs.Wright, Wilbur, 1867-1912.Wright, Orville, 1871-1948.Aeronautics United States History.Airplanes Design and construction.View this collection description in WorldCat.org: