Rarity of Autographs of Pioneer/Early Aviators
 

I would be very interested in opinions as to why it is quite difficult to find the autographs/signatures of some of the Early Aviators. Names such as Charles Rolls, Alfred Rawlinson, Cecil Grace, George Cockburn, Alec Ogilvie, A. Mortimer Singer and Lancelot Gibbs are extremely rare and very difficult to find.
The signatures of Test Pilots such as Geoffrey De Havilland (Jr), Gerry Sayer, George Bulman and Joseph "Mutt" Sumnmers are rarely if ever seen.

Paul McGinness was the founding father of QANTAS but I have never seen a genuine example of his signature.

The First Military Pilots Course in Oz consisted of Instructors Henry Petre and Eric Harrison, and students David Manwell, Dr George Merz, Thomas White and Richard Williams. The signatures of Petre, Harrison, Manwell and Merz are rarely seen.

Hundreds of thousands of people turned out to watch the Schneider Trophy races. Yet the signatures of the Pilots are extremely rare and seldom encountered. How many copies of "Wings" by Biard or "Schneider Trophy" by Orlebar would have been signed by the author?

I would be interested to hear your opinion as to why this is so. Please pm me if you know of someone who has these for sale. Thanks for your help.

I have several autographed test (and other famous) pilot biographies and similar books, a christmas card from Ann Welch tucked into the back of her autobiography, and a much prized signed lecture programme by Gene Krantz on my office wall, but none are for sale, nor will be in my lifetime.

Simple answer, people haven't generally asked for them in my opinion. That's not how pilots tend to be treated, even if they are relative celebrities. Also if people, like me, have asked for copies of books to be signed - they become prized possessions, not put up for sale or donated to museums.

G

Darwin has a wall in the city (preserved from a pub, a long time since I've walked past) which has the signatures of the early aviators who passed through. Don't recall the names, but likely contenders possibly include Harry Hawker, Ross & Kieth Smith, Kingsford Smith, Amy Johnson. Must check.

Can't seem to imbed photo

https://www.flickr.com/photos/40132991@N07/5786728060

Very nice. Thanks for sharing that with us.

I had a situation here in Oz where a fellow collector passed away. His family had no interest in his collection and no idea who Bert Hinkler et al were and the collection went to the tip. My own collection will hopefully go to friends who appreciate it. My family have no interest in Aerospace History.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/40132991@N07/5786728060

I have posted this before but this link will take you to my autograph collection online.

Gustav Hamel?
 

I have a collection of early aviation magazines and this Aeroplane from 1911 has what appears at first sight to be an (his) autograph... I note it's dated 22nd August which is the week before before the magazines publication date... Does anyone have an authentic autograph for comparison?


I should add that it appears to have been hand written post-publication rather than a feature of the original photo used for the cover design - so a comparison with another copy of the same magazine would also be of interest.


http://www.aviationancestry.co.uk/hamel1.jpg


http://www.aviationancestry.co.uk/hamel2.jpg

Although probably not rare due to the age he lived to is T. O. M. Sopwith.
However, I like the example of his autograph that is on public display which not many people know about due to its location.
The fin of the Sopwith Pup displayed at the Museum of Army Flying has his autograph on it but due to the aircraft's positioning in the museum the public view the portside of the fin and don't see the autograph.