29 x 36 cm. Relief shown by hachures. Prime meridians: Greenwich and Washington. "Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1855 by J.H. Colton & Co. in the Clerk's Office of the Dist. Office of the U.S. for the Southern. Dist. of New York." Hand colored. Decorative border. Atlas p. number in lower-right margin: 67. Shows routes of explorers, proposed railroad routes, wagon route, mail route, Indian reserves and mines. On verso: History and statistical view of Mexico. Original publisher: J.H. Colton.
Materials depict the celebrations of Howard Hughes's circumnavigation flight in 1938. Along with a crew consisting of Harry Connor, Tom Thurlow, Richard Stoddart, and Ed Lund, Hughes flew the Super Electra on a global circumnavigation flight. On July 10, 1938, Hughes and the crew departed Floyd Bennett Field in New York and flew to Paris, France, Moscow, Russia, Omsk, Russia, Yakutsk, Russia, Fairbanks, Alaska, and Minneapolis, Minnesota before landing back in New York on July 14. The photographs primarily depict the parades thrown for Hughes after completion of the flight. The photographs also depict Hughes and his crew meeting with New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia at New York City Hall, the National Press Association, and crowds of onlookers who attended the plane's landings in various cities.
Archival Collection
Howard Hughes Public Relations Photograph Collection
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Collection Number: PH-00373 Collection Name: Howard Hughes Public Relations Photograph Collection Box/Folder: N/A
Transcribed from press release attached to back of photo: "NEW PHOTO PLANE TEST-FLOWN CULVER CITY, California, July 7 -- Howard Hughes, who designed and built the new FX-11 reconnaissance plane in conjunction with Air Materiel Command engineers, sits in the pilot's bubble-glass canopy preparing for the first test flight. One of the world's fastest long-range photo planes, the XF-11 can attain a speed of more than 400 miles per hour, Army officials said. It is powered by two 3000-horsepower radial engines with eight-bladed contra-rotating propellers. Outstanding features include a full-span flap, unique eight-camera layout, and exceptionally fast take-off." Transcribed from photo sleeve: "Howard Hughes sits in the cockpit of the XF-11, a reconnaissance plane that Hughes built and designed in conjunction with Air Materiel Command engineers. Hughes is preparing for his first test flight in Culver City, California July 7, 1947.
The black and white view of the Lockheed 14 aircraft at Floyd Bennett Field in New York. Typed onto a piece of paper attached to the image: "Scene at Floyd Bennett Airport this evening shortly before the big Lockheed special monoplane New York World's Fair 1939 took off on a transatlantic flight to Paris, carrying Howard Hughes an a crew of four."
Howard Hughes (standing) , talking with William Powell, Veronica Lake, and Andr? Toth (seated) and Johnny Meier, Hughes Public Relations head, behind, at the 21 Club in New York City.
Howard Hughes sits in the cockpit of the XF-11, a reconnaissance plane that Hughes built and designed in conjunction with Air Materiel Command engineers. Hughes is preparing for his first test flight in Culver City, California July 7, 1947.