Description:

Ezekiel Air Ship Manufacturing Company 1901 Stock Certificate, Rare

An unnumbered partly printed and partly handwritten stock certificate certifying that "G.W. Hess + Co." purchased one $25 share of limited Capital Stock in Ezekiel Air Ship Manufacturing Company. Signed in Pittsburg, Texas on September 26, 1901 by two company officers: President J.J. Tapp and board member R.H. Heath. A visual representation of the eccentric airship (as described in the Bible and after which the company was named) appears at center. An embossed seal at lower left, and a cancelled revenue stamp verso. Moderate toning, darkened and chipped edges, isolated water stains, and expected paper folds, else good. 10" x 8." Accompanied by extensive provenance information elaborated below.

One of the most fantastical stories in the Bible is the apocalyptic vision of the prophet Ezekiel, which many have interpreted to be a description of a flying machine or U.F.O. The excerpt reproduced below is from the King James Version of the Book of Ezekiel, verses 15-21:

"Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces.

The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went.

As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.

And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.

Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels."

The Ezekiel Air Ship Manufacturing Company was incorporated by Baptist preacher and amateur inventor Burrell Cannon (1848-1922) in Pittsburg, about 120 miles east of Dallas, Texas, in August 1900. Cannon, who had invented cotton harvesting devices and even a butter churn dasher, determined to build a flying machine according to its description in the Book of Ezekiel. Instead of reading the biblical passage symbolically, Cannon determined that it was a nearly perfect blueprint for a functioning aircraft. In this way, Cannon literally interpreted most of the text, and built a prototype of a flying machine made out of steel, aluminum, bicycle wheels, fabric-covered wings, and a 4-cylinder 80 horsepower engine. Cannon did extrapolate what the meaning of such vague terms as "spirit" meant in the biblical passage (for him, this meant electricity), and he did omit certain features. What is clear, however, is that Cannon took the Word of God not only as Gospel but as DIY instructions!

The idea of a biblically-inspired flying machine appealed to local investors, and stock prices, normally $25 a share, jumped to $200 a share in May 1901 and peaked at $1,000 in August 1901 (about two months before this certificate was purchased.) On May 17, 1901, the "Pittsburg Gazette" stated: "The progress of the work on the airship is being watched with great interest and is the main topic of conversation on the streets. Large numbers of people go down to the machine shops daily to view the machine. The stockholders have great confidence in the machine and its inventor, as shown by the phenomenal rise of stock in the company…" Cannon also cashed in by selling admissions tickets to his machine shop and selling souvenir photographs of the flying machine prototype.

The ebullient enthusiasm for Reverend Cannon's airship eventually waned after construction on the machine stalled. In late 1902, Cannon's airship supposedly hovered about 12 feet off the ground for 167 feet before crashing to the ground near a fence. This would have been a full year before the Wright Brothers' pioneering biplane flight at Kitty Hawk. Yet some simply don't believe that the ponderous, bulky airship resembling an autogiro ever left the ground. Cannon left Pittsburg, taking the airship with him; it was later destroyed, rebuilt in 1911, and then the second prototype was also wrecked. The business venture proved a complete flop.

Provenance

Provenance and past purchase information includes correspondence between a well-known aviation historian and auction house; the original R.M. Smythe auction catalog description; and originals and copies of newspaper articles.

1. A 1p typed letter signed by Don Dwiggins of Malibu, California, an aviation collector and the author of such books as "The Complete Book of Airships: Dirigibles, Blimps, & Hot Air Balloons" (1980), dated December 8, 1981 and addressed to representatives from R.M. Smythe & Co., Inc.

2. Two photocopies of the 3pp catalog description of this stock certificate when it was offered as Lot 163 at a 1981 R.M. Smythe & Co., Inc. (New York, New York) auction.

3. A photocopy of an article examining the Ezekiel airship published in the October 12, 1901 issue of "Scientific American."

4. Three photocopies of the Robert M. Hayes article, "East Texas Town First Felt Fever of Plane Building" as published in the March 26, 1939 issue of "The Dallas Morning News." The Louie B. Hess featured in the article photograph may be related to "G.W. Hess + Co.," the owner of our stock certificate.

5. An article by J. Lynn Lunsford entitled "A Texas Town Works to Preserve Memory of Pre-Wright 'Flight:' Rev. Cannon's Ezekiel Airship Left Ground, Witnesses Say; Spot in History is Up in Air," published in "The Wall Street Journal" on November 20, 2002.

6. Two photocopies of artistic renderings of the Ezekiel airship.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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June 30, 2021 10:30 AM EDT
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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000