Miracle at Kitty Hawk: The Letters of Wilbur and Orville Wright.

KELLY, Fred C. [Editor] [Orville and Wilbur Wright].

Item Number: 145144

New York: Farrar, Straus and Young, 1951.

First edition of the collected, previously unpublished letters of the Wright brothers, edited by their authorized biographer Fred C. Kelly. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated, frontispiece after a sketch by Wilbur Wright showing the position of Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil. Association copy, from the library of Charlotte Seitner with a gift inscription dedicated to her to the front free endpaper, “To – Charlotte Seitner Dayton, Ohio Sept. 1951 From Kay H.-” The recipient, Charlotte Seitner was a historian and neighbor of Orville Wright. She was a life-long collector of Wright Brothers ephemera, donating most of her collection to the local historical society. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. An exceptional example with noted provenance.

In Miracle at Kitty Hawk, the previously unpublished letters of the Wright brothers offer both a first-hand account of the invention of the airplane and the history of aviation, and an intimate portrait of two of the greatest and most fabulous figures in the history of aviation - Wilbur and Orville Wright. The Wright brothers emerge here, in their modest way, as men who, with little formal education and the slight business background of selling and repairing bicycles, were able to overcome the problems that defeated the great scientists of their day. The Wright letters are arranged chronologically with an introduction and notes interpolated by Fred C. Kelly, the authorized biographer of the Wright brothers.