Archives at The Museum of Flight

Abstract The John and Alan Blum Northwest Aviation Collection consists of visual and textual materials related to the lives and careers of John and Alan Blum. John founded the Northwest Air Service Company and Alan served as President after his brother died in a plane crash in 1931.

Overview Alan Lonsdale Patterson worked extensively in the field of aviation from the 1920s to the 1980s. Throughout his career he worked as a barnstormer, pilot and established multiple companies that facilitated the sale of aircraft and aeronautical equipment, predominately between companies based in the United States and China. The collection represents both his professional and personal life through correspondence, photographs, business records, clippings and audiovisual materials, as well as...