Charles Lindbergh Autographed Photograph

This collection consists of one 10 by 8 inch black and white photograph, in a mat, showing Charles A. Lindbergh shaking hands with Charles L. Lawrance shortly before Lindbergh leaves Roosevelt Field, Long Island, New York on his solo transatlantic flight, May 20, 1927.

On May 21, 1927, Charles Augustus Lindbergh completed the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight in history, flying his Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis 3,610 miles (5,810 kilometers) between Roosevelt Field on Long Island, New York, and Paris, France, in 33 hours, 30 minutes. With this flight, Lindbergh won the $25,000 prize offered by New York hotel owner Raymond Orteig to the first aviator to fly an aircraft directly across the Atlantic between New York and Paris. When he landed at Le Bourget Field in Paris, Lindbergh became a world hero who would remain in the public eye for decades. Charles L. Lawrance, originally a race car engine designer, built his first air-cooled aircraft engine in 1921 for a US Navy contract. The Lawrance J-1 9-Cylinder Radial was the first practical American radial engine and satisfied a Navy need for a compact lightweight engine, not plagued with water leakage problems, for use on aircraft carriers. The engine had superior performance, weighed less, and was easier to maintain than liquid-cooled engines in comparable aircraft. With encouragement from the Navy, Lawrance merged with Wright, and the Lawrance J-1 developed into the famous Wright Whirlwind series of engines. The most famous Wright Whirlwind application was the 1927 New York-to-Paris flight of Charles Lindbergh. In 1928, Charles Lawrance was awarded the Collier Trophy for the outstanding performance of his engines based on records set in 1927.