The Wright Brothers.

KELLY, Fred C.; Introduction by Orville Wright.

Item Number: 81031

New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1943.

First edition of this classic American biography authorized by Orville Wright and long considered the definitive Wright biography. Octavo, original blue cloth, illustrated with 16 pages of photographs. Presentation copy, inscribed by Orville Wright on the half-title page to neighbor and historian Charlotte Seitner, “To Charlotte Seitner With Best Wishes Orville Wright Feb. 10, 1944.” 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 with the exception of the included materials which were inherited by her niece and nephew. Materials include newspaper clippings on the Wrights, a group of First-Day covers of Wright Brother Stamps, a personal letter from Seitner offering condolences on Orville Wright’s passing, and an undated print of the First Flight photograph. Fine in a very good dust jacket with some chips to the crown and foot of the spine. Introduction by Orville Wright. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.

In this fascinating, highly readable biography, Fred C. Kelly, a former newspaperman, author, and an old friend of the Wrights, tells the story of the two brilliant, dedicated, flight-obsessed bicycle mechanics from Ohio who first realized mankind's age-old dream of conquering the skies. Long considered the definitive Wright biography (the manuscript was read and approved by Orville Wright), this book recounts the Wrights' small-town boyhood, their early interest in all things mechanical, the establishment of the Wright Cycle Shop, and the complete behind-the-scenes story of how they designed, built, tested, and flew (December 1903) the first "Flyer."