In 1910, the great aviator Alberto Santos Dumont fascinates two young French photographers during one of his last public appearances.
Two amateur photographs, pasted on the front and back of a single sheet.
Pencil notes.
19.7 cm x 14.8 cm.
France, Niort airfield.
March 1910.
Excellent condition of conservation.
Unique pieces.
1st photo
Santos Dumont 1st aviation festival in Niort, March 2010
2nd photo
Santos Dumont 1st Niort Aviation Festival Photo taken by Emile and enlarged by Henri
Alberto Santos Dumont (1873 – 1932) invented and tested the first gasoline-powered dirigible balloons. In 1901, he flew one around the Eiffel Tower and became world famous.
He is best known for being one of the first – if not the first – to take off in a gasoline-powered airplane. However, credit for the invention of the airplane is usually given to the Wright brothers. France is an exception, where Clément Ader made the first flight on October 9, 1890, but in military secrecy. In 1906, in a public demonstration in Paris, he flew about 60 meters at a height of two to three meters.
In 1910, Santos Dumont began to suffer from multiple sclerosis, stopped competing and closed his workshop... gradually distancing himself from the public.
These two amateur photographs, pasted on the front and back of a single sheet, show the aviator in one of his last appearances, during an aviation festival in Niort, a small town in western France.
The authors of these unpublished images are Emile and Henri. They were two Frenchmen, perhaps brothers or friends, impressed by Santos Dumont and his machines.
These two original photographs of Santos Dumont, in excellent condition, show the aviator with his machines, in one of his last public appearances.
