Item #1676 The Problem of Flying [and] Practical Experiments in Soaring (in Annual Report of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution...). Otto Lilienthal.
The Problem of Flying [and] Practical Experiments in Soaring (in Annual Report of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution...)
The Problem of Flying [and] Practical Experiments in Soaring (in Annual Report of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution...)
The Problem of Flying [and] Practical Experiments in Soaring (in Annual Report of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution...)
The Problem of Flying [and] Practical Experiments in Soaring (in Annual Report of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution...)
The Problem of Flying [and] Practical Experiments in Soaring (in Annual Report of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution...)
The Problem of Flying [and] Practical Experiments in Soaring (in Annual Report of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution...)
The Problem of Flying [and] Practical Experiments in Soaring (in Annual Report of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution...)
The Problem of Flying [and] Practical Experiments in Soaring (in Annual Report of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution...)
The Problem of Flying [and] Practical Experiments in Soaring (in Annual Report of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution...)
The Problem of Flying [and] Practical Experiments in Soaring (in Annual Report of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution...)
First American Appearance of Otto Lilienthal's Aviation Research

The Problem of Flying [and] Practical Experiments in Soaring (in Annual Report of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution...)

Washington: Government Printing Office, 1894. Black and white illustrations, plates. Original cloth hardcover. Octavo. Pages 189-199 within the larger volume.

Two important articles by German aviation pioneer, Otto Lilienthal, included in the Smithsonian's Annual Report to Congress to July 1893. Lilienthal's methodical experiments in gliding and wing design were tremendously influential on the Wright brothers, and this seems to be his first print appearance in the United States. His two articles herein were subsequently published as a separate Smithsonian pamphlet the same year.

Lilienthal is widely considered the "father of aviation" for his significant contributions to understanding the mechanics of flight, specifically the principles of stability and lift.

The Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian includes the expected data on the operations, expenditures, and condition of the Institution, but also includes a General Appendix consisting of papers on scientific discoveries and advances made by collaborators and correspondents of the Institution all around the world. Hence, the two pieces by Lilienthal, abstracted and translated from their appearances in the German magazine Prometheus.

Interestingly, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution at this time was Samuel P. Langley, another important figure in the history of aviation.

Otto Lilienthal was one of the handful of predecessors credited by the Wright brothers in their ultimate success, and this volume represents a crucial and tangible step in the realization of mankind's age-old dream of taking to the skies.

Ref. See RANDERS-PEHRSON 96.

Thick volume in very good condition. Bound in black cloth over boards with oxidized gilt titles to spine. Some rubbing along upper joint with two small holes worn through. Blind embossed stamp and ink date stamp on title page. Overall clean, sound, and complete.

Item #1676

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