Postcard of Wright Army Plane

Summary

Grayscale postcard of the Wright Army Plane, also known as the 1909 Wright Military Flyer, flying above trees. The card indicates that the 1908-1909 Wright Army Plane was the first government-owned plane "in the world." In 1942, the year of production for the postcard, the plane was on display at the United States National Museum, now known as the Arts and Industries Building. The postcard is labelled as one of the "Free Post Cards For Service Men" distributed during World War II. The front of the postcard has a white border, and the card is unused.

Subject

National Collections

Category

Historic Images of the Smithsonian

Notes

The Arts and Industries Building (A&I) was designed by two Philadelphia architects: Adolph Cluss and Rudolph Schulze. It first opened in 1881 as the United States National Museum, the Smithsonian's first building dedicated solely to the research, care, and display of collections. After the natural history collection moved into its own building in 1910, the Arts and Industries Building exhibited primarily historical collections.

Contained within

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 65, Box 16, Folder: Postcards

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

1942

Restrictions & Rights

No restrictions

Topic

• Postcard
• Airplanes
• Wright Military Plane
• Wright Flyer (Airplane)

Form/Genre

• Postcard
• Paper

ID Number

SIA2013-07814 (front) and SIA2013-07815 (back)

Physical description

Number of Images: 2; Color: Black and White; Size: 5.5w x 3.5h; Type of Image: Postcard; Medium: Paper

Full Record

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