WRIGHT, ORVILLE. (1871-1948). American inventor and aviation pioneer who, with his brother Wilbur, completed the first sustained and piloted flight of a heavier-than-air aircraft. Signed Check. (“Orville Wright”). 2pp. Oblong 12mo. Dayton, December 2, 1932. A $50 check from Wright’s Winters National Bank & Trust account made payable to Wright by his secretary and signed on the recto and endorsed on the verso in his hand.

The Wright brothers’ ongoing interest in all things mechanical was put to its first practical application in 1896 in their Dayton, Ohio shop when they began to produce bicycles on a small scale. That same year, Wilbur became fascinated with aviation after reading about German aviator Otto Lilienthal’s accidental death. Serious aeronautical work and experimentation began in 1899 when Wilbur, having exhausted his own resources, wrote to the Smithsonian requesting copies of every work available on the subject. In 1901, the first Wright glider was tested at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina and, after several years of intense experimentation, Orville and Wilbur returned to try their motor-powered airplane. On December 17, 1903, they completed the first sustained flight of a heavier-than-air machine under a pilot’s control.

Perforated along three edges. Bearing the perforated cancellation as well as several ink cancellation stamps, not affecting Wright’s signatures. PSA/DNA certified, encapsulated and graded (NM – MT 8). In excellent condition.