THE SAMUEL FRANKLIN CODY ARCHIVE: Samuel Franklin Cody was o...

Hammer

£28,000

THE SAMUEL FRANKLIN CODY ARCHIVE:
Samuel Franklin Cody was one of the pioneers of early flight. Most people have heard of the Wright Brothers but Cody was every bit as important in the development of aviation. The date of 16th October 1908 is recognised as the date of the first official flight of a piloted heavier-than-air machine in Great Britain where Cody reached a height of 1,390 ft (420 m). Born on the 6 March 1867 in Davenport, Iowa, USA he made his name initially as a Wild West showman. He is most famous for his work on the large kites known as Cody War-Kites, that were used by the British Army before World War I as a smaller alternative to balloons for artillery spotting.
EARLY AVIATION PIONEERS/THE SAMUEL CODY ARCHIVE: Extremely important solid silver The Shell Motor Spirit Trophy, 1912, by Mappin and Webb, hallmarked London 1912, with fine model of Cody's Flyer, Type No. V, mounted on a stepped wooden plinth with two plaques, the first inscribed Presented To S.F. Cody by the distributors of "Shell" Motor Spirit 1912., the other Did Three Command Flights Before H.M. King George V. Completed The Circuit Of Great Britain With All Marked Parts In 1911. Won The Two Empire British Michelin Trophies. 1911. Won The International 1st. & British 1st. Prize In Military Competition Salisbury Plain. 1912. Won The Cross Country Michelin Speed Competition 1912. Was Handed Over To The Royal Flying Corps For War Service. Nov. 1912. After Having Covered 7000 Miles, with related letters from the British Petroleum Company Limited to Cody, one dated 7th Dec:12, and stating, '...The silver model of your Biplane is finished, and is on view at Messrs. Mappin & Webb's, Oxford Street, W...', the reverse with Cody's reply drafted in pencil, together with further correspondence from British Petroleum, Mappin and Webb and The Grahame-White Aviation Company . A unique piece of aviation history. The trophy measures 13¼ins. high overall, with bespoke ebonised glazed display case.
This most famous of Cody's aeroplanes was handed over to the R.F.C. and exhibited at the April, 1913 Aero Show. Shortly afterwards it crashed whilst being flown by Lt. Rogers-Harrison, one of Cody's best pupils. A replica was built by Cody and subsequently used by the R.F.C.: this is now preserved in the Science Museum, London.