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Archives at The Museum of Flight


Series I. Wright Company, 1909-1927

 Series

Scope and Contents

Series I. Wright Company includes material dating from 1909-1927 and is divided into three subseries: Administrative, Legal and Financial records.

The Administrative records subseries consists of bound volumes of documents. Two bound volumes with documents glued in and one additional file consist of minutes from meetings of the board of directors and executive committee. The minutes reflect such things as the reorganization of leadership in late 1915, discussion of mergers, royalties and contracts, and patent issues. A few additional files relate to the election of directors. Two additional bound volumes consist of carbon copies of correspondence with letters organized chronologically. The bulk of the correspondence is of outgoing letters written by company secretary Alpheus F. Barnes. Much of the correspondence regards financial matters, such as royalty and licensing payments, acknowledgment of receipt of payments, and financial considerations relating to contracts. Some correspondence relates to legal matters, such as issues with Glenn H. Curtiss, patent applications, and litigation. Some correspondence regards catalogues and construction of machines (airplanes) as well as exhibitions and demonstrations of their aircraft and flight training. Fliers who flew exhibitions on behalf of the company, including Frank Coffyn, Arch Hoxsey, Roy Knabenshue, and Phil Parmalee, are frequently mentioned or written to in the correspondence. Other frequent correspondents include Orville Wright, lawyer H.A. Toulmin, and company director Andrew Freedman. Burgess Company and Curtis, who received a license to flying a Wright aircraft, is also well represented in the correspondence.

The second subseries, Legal records, is comprised of documents organized chronologically reflecting the founding of the company by the Wright Brothers and includes subsequent contracts and documents pertaining to royalty rights and property ownership. The materials include original documents signed by Orville, Wilbur and Katharine Wright.

The final subseries, Financial records, consists of a ledger of account balances, proxy letters for stockholders, and a small amount of correspondence.

Dates

  • Creation: 1909-1927

Creator

Language of Materials

From the Collection:

All materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research. The bound volumes and some documents may not be photocopied due to condition. Negatives may not be handled; copies and digital versions are available for access. Some oversize items are in need of conservation treatment so access may be limited.

Full Extent

From the Collection: 22.8 Cubic Feet (1 records carton, 11 5-inch legal size document boxes, 22 5-inch letter size document boxes, 1 2-inch letter size document box, 24 letter size expandable folders, 1 oversize box (20x24x3"), 1 oversize box (25x32x3"), 1 oversize box (32x40x3"))


The Museum of Flight | 9404 E. Marginal Way South | Seattle WA 98108-4097 | 206-764-5874
Contact us with a research request
curator@museumofflight.org