Unusual Photograph of Byrd with an autographed seating card.
Ca. 1927. Unusual image type of Byrd wearing Navy whites with his arms crossed over his chest, the image 2 x 6 3/4" on matt photographic paper, 4 3/4 x 7 3/4". He has signed "R.E. Byrd" on an attractive table seating card for "H. Wiggers", the card an image of the earth, clouds, the American flag and a plane- most likely an event at which Byrd spoke in support of his flight over the North Pole. Byrd was a pioneering American aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics. In 1926, he flew over the Arctic in the "Josephine Ford" with Floyd Bennett and claimed to have reached the North Pole. There has been controversy over whether or not Byrd reached the pole ever since, but this card must date to a period shortly after his flight. While Byrd claimed that his expeditions had been the first to reach the North and South Pole by air, the majority of polar experts are now of the opinion that Roald Amundsen has the first verifiable claim to each pole. Item #20852
Price: $125.00