Description:

Wright Wilbur



Scarce Twice Signed Wilbur Wright Power of Attorney for His Own Stockholder Meeting.

 

Single Page typed document signed, as a Power of Attorney. Signed TWICE by Wilbur Wright, (the scarcer of the two brother's autograph). Dated "November 2, 1911", and signed by Wilbur Wright once within the body of the document, and once at the bottom of the document alongside the signature of the Witness, brother Lorin Wright (1862-1939). In fine condition with expected folds.

 

A fantastic twice signed document, perfect for the collector of the Wright Brothers and/or historical aviation. Wilbur effectively grants Power Of Attorney to his own stockholder meeting which he is not able to attend, and appoints "Andrew Freedman and Pliny W. Williamson … in my name placed and stead to vote upon all stock held by me in The Wright Company at the meeting of the stockholders of the said Company … for the election of Directors and Inspectors of Election and for such other business as may come before the meeting..."

 

 Wilbur Wright died six months later in May 1912.

 

The Wright brothers are known for inventing, building, and flying what is credited as the first successful airplane. Their first sustained flight took place on December 17, 1903, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. At first, the brothers' initial success with flight was not believed by many of in the national press or others interested in flight because few saw the early flights and the only photographs were taken by the brothers themselves. The brothers kept their early flights secret in order to protect themselves against competitors stealing their ideas, as they had no patent until 1906. Thus, Wilbur set out for Europe in 1908 to prove his and his brother's claim and to sell airplanes. Wilbur overcame European skeptics with several spectacular flights in France. Later Orville joined Wilbur in Europe, where both became celebrities and successful salespersons of airplanes. Returning to the United States in 1909, the Wright brothers finally found success-and wealth-- in their own country by building and selling airplanes.

 

The Wright Company was the commercial aviation firm established by Orville and Wilbur on November 22, 1909, in conjunction with several prominent industrialists from New York and Detroit with the intention of capitalizing on their invention of the practical airplane. The business office was located in New York City, and its factory in Dayton, Ohio, the first constructed in the United States specifically to build airplanes. The Wright Company concentrated its efforts on protecting the company's patent rights rather than on developing new aircraft or aircraft components, believing that innovations would hurt the company's efforts to obtain royalties from competing manufacturers or patent infringers. The company was involved in many lawsuits to protect its interests, which tarnished the public images of the brothers, considered by many to be heroes.

 

Wilbur, the more business-minded of the two brothers, who served as president of the Wright Company, stopped flying in 1911 to devote his time to running the company and dealing with several lawsuits relating to the company's patent rights. He spent much of 1911 traveling, including six months in Europe, which posed a strain on his health. He fell ill during a business trip to Boston, Massachusetts, in April 1912. He was diagnosed with typhoid fever and died on May 30 at his home in Dayton, Ohio, just six months after signing this contract. Following the death of his brother, Orville carried on the company until he sold it in October 1915. In 1916, the Wright Company merged with the Glen L. Martin Company to form the Wright-Martin Company.


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