Charles Lindbergh & The Spirit Of St. Louis Postcard, Made In France
Item History & Price
Reference Number: Avaluer:2842255 | Country/Region of Manufacture: France |
Type: Printed (Lithograph) | Era: Chrome (c. 1939-present) |
This collectible postcard shows the Spirit of St. Louis with a photo of Lindbergh added [see photos]. See History below. The card measures 5 1/2 X 3 1/2 inches and has a sepia toned photo on the front. Photo possibly taken when he landed in Paris? On the back is the wording "Made in France - Fabriqué en France." There is pencil writing in the upper right corner and a few dirt ve...ry tiny smudge spots but it is in very good to excellent condition but if framed would not be noticeable.
For the aviation postcard collector...or aviator to display in your hangar or office.
History: The Spirit of St. Louis (Registration: N-X-211) is the custom-built, single engine, single-seat, high wing monoplane that was flown solo by Charles Lindbergh on May 20 – 21, 1927, on the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight from Long Island, New York, to Paris, France.
The Spirit was designed and built in San Diego to compete for the $25, 000 Orteig Prize for the first nonstop flight between New York and Paris. Hall and Ryan Airlines staff worked closely with Lindbergh to design and build the Spirit in just 60 days. Although what was actually paid to Ryan Airlines for the project is not clear, Mahoney offered to do it at cost. After first approaching several major aircraft manufacturers without success, in early February 1927 Lindbergh, who as a U.S. Air Mail pilot was familiar with the good record of the M-1 with Pacific Air Transport, wired, "Can you construct Whirlwind engine plane capable flying nonstop between New York and Paris ...?"
Lindbergh took off in the Spirit from Roosevelt Airfield, Garden City, NY and landed 33 hours, 30 minutes later at Aéroport Le Bourget in Paris, France, a distance of approximately 3, 600 miles. One of the best-known aircraft in the world, the Spirit was built by Ryan Airlines in San Diego, CA owned and operated at the time by Benjamin Franklin Mahoney, who had purchased it from its founder, T. Claude Ryan, in 1926. The Spirit is on permanent display in the main entryway's Milestones of Flight gallery at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.