- William E. "Gink" Doherty (b. ? - d. 1954) - A Curtiss trained aviator who would later in October 1914 pilot the Curtiss-modified Langley Aerodrome from Keuka Lake. - TVL1970
Porte -- Halle -- Curtiss -- Miss Masson -- at "America" launch (LOC)
Bain News Service,, publisher.
Porte -- Halle -- Curtiss -- Miss Masson -- at "America" launch
[between ca. 1910 and ca. 1915]
1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller.
Notes:
Title from unverified data provided by the Bain News Service on the
negatives or caption cards.
Forms part of: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress).
Format: Glass negatives.
Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.
Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
General information about the Bain Collection is available at hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.ggbain
Persistent URL: hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.16405
Call Number: LC-B2- 3122-7
Comments and faves
TVL1970 (19 months ago | reply)
As per Glenn Curtiss - Pioneer of Flight (1991), by Cecil R. Roseberry, this photo depicts the christening and launching of the Curtiss Model H Flying Boat "America" on June 22, 1914 in Hammondsport, New York, just adjacent to Keuka Lake. From left to right, aviators John Cyril Porte, George E.A. Hallett, and (builder) Glenn Curtiss stand below 16-year old Miss Katherine Masson. Miss Masson, the daughter of Leon Masson, an official with the Pleasant Valley Wine Company (and granddaughter of Jules Masson), was chosen to christen the America with a bottle of champagne (which proved to be a fitful task).
The aircraft's construction by Glenn Curtiss was commissioned by Rodman Wanamaker, the son of department store founder John Wanamaker, in order to compete for the ₤10,000 prize offered by the Daily Mail newspaper for the first non-stop aerial crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. The Curtiss Model H-1 flying boat was Initially known as the "Rodman Wanamaker Transatlantic Flyer," but the name "America" was chosen for the aircraft by Wanamaker.
Ultimately, the outbreak of the the First World War would intercede and "America" would never make its planned transatlantic flight.
Here's a link to British Pathe newsreel film of the assembly and christening of the America, along with footage of a stubborn bottle of champagne.
www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=80471
Another Bain photo of the trio and Miss Masson:
Wystan (19 months ago | reply)
Other Bain/LOC photos of the flying boat, "America":
and another Curtiss flying boat:
technogeo added this photo to his favorites. (19 months ago)