Let's see some aviators

[G1911]

Not considered a sport now, but it was when man first took motorized flight. I've been getting more into the early cards issued when airplanes were newfangled contraptions and an exciting and risky innovation. Here's some T38's issued at United Cigar Stores with fancy gold backs. The Wright Brothers, Wilbur Wright solo, Gabriel Voison, Alfred Le Blanc, Ralph Johnstone and more pictured.

[puckpaul]

I think these are very cool. Where do you find them?

[Peter_Spaeth]

...

[G1911]

Originally Posted by puckpaul

I think these are very cool. Where do you find them?

They're little tough, but they pop up sometimes, usually in batches. 25 cards, in Gold United Cigar or White Tokio & Muezzin backs. The white backs rarely appear, I wouldn't call the golds common but they aren't worth much. $10-$30 for G-VG/EX cards. The Wrights, Curtiss, some of the error cards are worth more.

[G1911]

Here's a pair of C. 1911 T28's. Curtiss' flights in the June Bug played a large role in gaining public attention to aeroplane's. Bleriot was the first to cross the English Channel.

[mk05and66]

One of these days I'll find the rest to make the set...

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by mk05and66

One of these days I'll find the rest to make the set...

I love the phrasing on the back "one of a contemplated series of 250 different kinds."

[mk05and66]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

I love the phrasing on the back "one of a contemplated series of 250 different kinds."

Yes, when I found out there were only 25 actually made, I realized that making the set would be possible (one day when I seriously start looking for them, that is)

[jp1216]

1991 Tuff Stuff (French)

[Bill77]

A few women aviators.

[wdmullins]

[OutsiderSubtype]

Another of Amelia Earhart, issued with Milky Way Bars

[Exhibitman]

Jeff Dickson was an American boxing promoter in Europe in the interwar period, elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2000. This British 1930s RPPC shows him with fellow HOFers Thil and Brown. In 1943, Capt. Jeff Dickson was killed in action over Germany while serving in the U.S. Air Force during World War II.

[jthorst75]

A beautiful set, all individual cards that make up this cutaway of the Empire Flying Boat. I have another set unframed. They're British so I rarely see them come up for sale as a set. The framing makes this set the only way to appreciate it.

[OutsiderSubtype]

This is a PSA Type 1 of Amelia Earhart in Italy.

The person to her left is Italo Balbo, also an aviation pioneer of a sort.

[Peter_Spaeth]

...

[OutsiderSubtype]

U.S.S. Lexington in the late 1930s.



According to the print material on the back, this image is from a Fleet Week event in Hawaii. The image ran with newspaper stories about Amelia Earhart's disappearance because the Lexington was involved in the search for her plane.

The Lexington was sunk at the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942.

[quinnsryche]

What, no greatest fighter pilot of all time?? Baron Manfred Von Richthofen - The Red Baron. 80 confirmed victories in the First World War.

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by quinnsryche

What, no greatest fighter pilot of all time?? Baron Manfred Von Richthofen - The Red Baron. 80 confirmed victories in the First World War.

Excuse me, Tony, but Baron von Richthofen was the greatest fighter pilot of World War I, not of all time. If we're discussing all time, that "title" must go to the German WWII ace of all aces, Erich Hartmann, who shot down the staggering total of 352 Allied aircraft. He was incredibly gifted and skilled. He admittedly shot down many Russian aircraft being flown by inexperienced pilots, but the same could be said for most of the aces with a high number of kills.

I seriously doubt there are any trading cards of Bubi Hartmann, but who cares? --- Brian Powell