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Biplane Aug 12

Postcard
Real photo postcard, never mailed, that depicts a group of people gathered around a biplane, also called an airplane or an aeroplane. The photo in inscribed "Saugatuck Mich" but the location is unknown.
Biplane Aug 12 picture number 1
Biplane Aug 12 picture number 2 CR15Aug1913.jpg 205KB; Aeroplane Exhibition A Success The Riggs-Weeks aeroplane exhibition held here Tuesday was a success in every respect except that only about $100 was secured as a bonus from the business men instead of $300 that was asked in the first place. Mr. Weeks flies a machine manufactured by the Riggs Mfg. Co. of Terra Haute, Ind., and it is one of the only two of the kind ever made. Mr. Riggs the manufacturer, was here on the day of the flight and although the machine worked well, he tells us that it will, in his opinion,m be a long time before flying will be practical for it will always be dangerous to navigate the air. From the time the airship was sited on its way from Holland to this place on Monday afternoon till after the exhibition the subject of air navigation was a popular topic. The flight from Holland was made in 11 minutes and a safe landing made on the former ball grounds here. There were some who wished to make the flight with the aviator but the danger more than the $50 passenger fee stopped them. The airship glided leisurely through the air at times and then more rapidly as it made the circles of the Tango and Turkey Trot, and then after a time, having been 3,000 feet above the ground, alighted in safely. The next flight will be made at Ft. Collins, Col., and then at Reno, Nev. another biplane from Jack Sheridan, who doubts this image is from Saugatuck. Commercial_Record_plane_photo.jpg 4.2MB no date recorded; From 2021.72.02

2023.18.18

See Commercial Record clipping attached to this entry. After the first powered flight by the Wright brothers in 1903, the American public was fascinated by the new technology of aviation. In 1910 a biplane was demonstrated in Detroit. -- “Skymen Give Proof of Their Mastery of Air”, Detroit Free Press, July 15, 1910, column 7. "E.O. Weeks, the aviator whose machine has been at the fairgrounds for the last two weeks, attempted a flight to Saugatuck, Sunday, at about 9:30, and many churchgoers of this city were astounded to see about 4,000 feet in the air an aeroplane going westward. He turned back when cloud cover entered but did make a successful flight to Saugatuck on Monday." -- Holland City News/The Holland Sentinel, Thursday, Aug. 14, 1913

Winthers, Sally

2023.18

Found in Collection

3-1/2 in

5-1/2 in

007 Celebrations

09/13/2023

08/16/2025