Winter Auction 2015 closing February 7
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/8/2015
Offered is an attractive display featuring the signature of Amelia Earhart. Matted with the 2-1/2" by 2-1/2" autograph is a 3/4" by 5/8" rectangular piece of red fabric removed by the Smithsonian from Earhart’s Lockheed Vega 5B and a 7.75” x 9.5” colorized full length photograph of Earhart standing in front of her Vega. On May 20 - 21, 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman – and the second person after Charles Lindbergh – to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean. Flying this red Lockheed Vega 5B, she left Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, Canada, and landed about 15 hours later near Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Later that summer, Earhart flew the Vega setting another record. On August 24-25, 1932, she made the first solo, nonstop flight by a woman across the U.S., from Los Angeles to Newark, N.J. The flight covered a distance of 2,447 miles and lasted about 19 hours.
Earhart sold her Lockheed Vega 5B to Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute in 1933. It was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution in 1966 where it is now on display in the National Air and Space Museum. In the 1970s and 1980s, various historical aircraft in the Smithsonian were restored, including Earhart’s Lockheed Vega 5B. Small square pieces of fabric were mounted on limited edition prints and sold at the National Air and Space Museum. A color photocopy of the Lockheed Vega 5B LOA is included. The piece has been framed to 17” x 19.5" and shows mild wear on the frame itself. A full photo LOA from PSA/DNA accompanies the autograph. LOA from University Archives signed by leading historical autograph expert John Reznikoff.