Postcard of the "Spirit of St. Louis"

ID: SIA2013-07787 (front) and SIA2013-07788 (back)

Creator: Albertype Company, The

Form/Genre: Postcard

Date: 1933

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

Close
Usage Conditions Apply
The Smithsonian Institution Archives welcomes personal and educational use of its collections unless otherwise noted. For commercial uses, please contact photos@si.edu.
Download IIIF ManifestRequest permissionsDownload image Print
 

Summary

Sepia postcard of the Spirit of St. Louis, Charles Lindbergh's plane, hanging in the United States National Museum, now the Arts and Industries Building, above display cases. A thick white border is below the image on the front. The postcard is unused, but the message side has a printed note about the plane: "'The Spirit of St. Louis'. Flown by Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh (then Captain) on May 20-21, 1927, from New York to Paris, a distance of 3,610 miles, in 33 hours, 28 minutes. After returning from Europe on the USS. Memphis, Colonel Lindbergh made a 22,350 mile tour of the United States in this historic plane, followed by a Pan-American flight of 9,200 miles. The 'Spirit of St. Louis' was presented to the Smithsonian Institution by Colonel Lindbergh on December 11, 1927, at the presentation to him of the Langley Medal of the Institution, and was installed in the National Museum on May 14, 1928."

Subject

  • Lindbergh, Charles A (Charles Augustus) 1902-1974
  • Spirit of St. Louis (Airplane)
  • United States National Museum
  • Arts and Industries Building

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 and technological collections.
  • Today the plane can be found at the National Air and Space Museum.
  • For postcards with the image in color, produced by Curt Teich & Co., see Negatives SIA2013-01065 and SIA2013-07220; and SIA2013-06661 and SIA2013-06662.

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

1933

Restrictions & Rights

No restrictions

Topic

  • Postcard
  • Airplanes
  • Exhibitions

Form/Genre

  • Postcard
  • Paper

ID Number

SIA2013-07787 (front) and SIA2013-07788 (back)

Physical description

Number of Images: 2; Color: Sepia; Size: 5.5w x 3.4h; Type of Image: Postcard; Medium: paper

Full Record

View Full Record