On May 20-21, 1927, Charles Lindbergh literally flew into history when he crossed the Atlantic Ocean in his Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis, thus becoming the first pilot to fly solo and nonstop from New York to Paris. This flight made Lindbergh a household name and catapulted him into fame and celebrity. The objects of popular culture in the National Collection display everything from ashtrays to wristwatches reflect the public adulation for Lindbergh and the powerful commercial response to his celebrity. More than 75 years after the Spirit's historic flight, Lindbergh's name still has the power help sell manufactured goods.
This object is on display in Boeing Aviation Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.
MEMORABILIA-Popular Culture
Electric lamp with cream and black (painted) colored seated cat forming the base with lamp post and socket emerging from the cats back, the basis for the figure is the cat "Patsy" associated with Lindbergh just prior to his flight across the Atlantic in 1927. On the front chest of the figure is an oval logo that reads "Lindy's Kat"
3-D: 11.4 x 6.4 x 19.1cm, 0.5kg (4 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 7 1/2 in., 1 1/8lb.)
Metal, cloth covered wire, rubber, cardboard
A20040292083
Gift of the Stanley King Family.
National Air and Space Museum
Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.