Rumors of Flight: The Photographic Record of the Wright Brothers at Huffman Prairie

Abstract

<p>Today, one hundred years after the Wright Brothers conducted their research leading to powered flight, we can revisit the period between 1900 and 1905. We know what the brothers did, and how they did it, largely because the Wrights conscientiously recorded their work both visually and verbally. In this sense, they showed an extraordinary dimension of their inventiveness. The camera was an important instrument of their research. The Wright Brothers as inventors had a unique understanding of the power of photography to make an accurate representation of reality (Nolan, 1984). As a result, the Wright Brothers have left us a huge collection of photographic images that include an enormous amount of information. This record is a part of the Wright legacy that has not been explored extensively.</p>

<p>The purpose of this report is to discuss the photographs from the Wright Brothers' collection that document the Huffman Prairie experiences of 1904 and 1905, with special emphasis on two questions:</p>

<p>First, what do the photographs say about flying at Huffman Prairie in 1904 and 1905?</p>

<p>Second, who were the photographers and, as an extension of that question, what were the shooting styles and strategies of the photographers, as evidenced by the photographs?</p>

<p>Paper presented in the symposium "Following the Footsteps of the Wright Brothers: Their Sites and Stories", at Wright State University, Dayton, OH, 28 September 2001.</p>