Updated July 25, 2025
When collecting historical items associated with the Wright Brothers, the following recommendations are offered:
- Know your subject. The more knowledgeable you are of the history of the Wright Brothers, the less chance you'll be fooled by misrepresented items, and the greater your ability to identify an item of historical significance.
- Be aware that sellers don't always know their subject. They may unknowingly describe an item inaccurately. I've lost count the number of pictures or postcards I've seen for sale on E-bay identified incorrectly by the seller as depicting a Wright aeroplane, or one of the Wright brothers.
- Know that there are sellers with full knowledge they are selling forgeries. Further, and this is really unfortunate, sellers in this category can have a 100% positive feedback rating, and in fact, usually do have a 100% positive feedback rating. Don't use feedback rating as a guarantee of authenticity of products.
- Check the Seller's sales history. A dealer that appears to have an endless supply of items signed by Orville or Wilbur is likely offering products signed recently to appear as signed by the Wright Brothers.
- Know the value. If you find items offered at half the price of what these items normally would sell, you likely have not found a bargain.
As
I routinely check E-bay, LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com, and other
sites for Wright Brother related items for sale, I am constantly
coming across material that is misidentified or questionable. By constantly,
I mean, all the time, every time I check, every day. And I don't mean
one or two examples, but rather dozens of examples on any given day.
***Warning***
LiveAuctioneers
site has had an increase in the number of Wilbur and Orville Wright
"signed" postcards and photos. The items are often listed with bids beginning
at $1, and tend to sell for perhaps 10% of the dealer's listed estimated
value. All are provided with COA's. None of these items would ever pass
certification by JSA, PSA/DNA, or Beckett.
COA's are good, but they need to be from a highly respected authority such as those listed under E-bay's recommended COA list; more on this later.
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Know your subject-
The Wright Brothers fought hard in the courts for their rightful compensation from those infringing upon their patent rights. Their father Milton Wright wrote in October of 1912, "Orville has been considerably tossed about by a pending lawsuit at Buffalo. It is a suit against a company and against Glenn Curtiss for infringement of the Wright Company's patent.....Men with valuable patent rights have to fight for them. They [Wilbur and Orville] are not exceptions to the rule. This costs much time and money. Wilbur prepared this case mostly for trial. This was unfavorable for him in preparing for and warding off the typhoid fever." (1)
- Historical Fact- Neither Wilbur, nor Orville would have ever signed their names on a photograph depicting a patent infringing airplane. They would only have signed their names on a photograph of a Wright model.
When you become aware of a postcard or photo of a non-Wright model aeroplane with "signatures" of either Wilbur, Orville, or both, you've found an example of non-genuine signatures you can add to your digital inventory for future reference.
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| Postcard depicting a mono-plane, a patent infringing competitor's model in the eyes of the Wright Brothers. Neither brother would have signed such a postcard. The signatures are obviously not in their hand. |
Additionally, it was extremely rare that the Brothers signed both their names across a photo or postcard. Only a small number of examples exist. An item with both brother's genuine
signatures would sell well above $10,000. Compare the "signatures" above to those on the postcards below. They are all in the same hand, but none are in the hand of either Wilbur or Orville. Note the similarity of the signatures, a tell-tale sign of a non-genuine signature. Hundreds of items with these mimicked signatures have sold over the past 5 years. (2)
The above postcards are period postcards and not modern reproductions, though the "signatures" were written in recent years. Do not come to the conclusion that an item contains genuine Wright brother signatures simply because the postcard or photograph dates to their time period. Period postcards and photographs are readily available for anyone to mimic the Brother's signatures.
Occasionally the Brother's "signatures" are reproduced on a document that historically does not date to within the correct time period. A Western Union telegram dating to 1914 was altered to appear to have been signed by Wilbur and Orville Wright, and dated December 17, 1903. Obviously, Wilbur Wright could not have signed his name to the 1914 telegram, having died May 30, 1912. Newcomb Carlton is listed as President of Western Union on the form below. Carlton was not elected President until April 15, 1914. This form was printed 2 years after Wilbur Wright's death. Compare the signatures to those on the postcards above, and you'll recognize the common source. This telegram is so obviously fabricated, no knowledgeable collector should have been deceived; yet it sold for $1500 plus 20% BP in July of 2022, accompanied by a COA indicating the "signature(s) is consistent with known genuine exemplars..."
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| 1914 Western Union form made to appear to have been utilized in December 17 of 1903. |
Another telegram dated December 15, 1903 on a similar 1914 Western Union telegram form was offered at auction in 2019 several times without any takers. Note the same mimicked signatures. Assuming those pesky tell-tale printed names of the President and Vice-Presidents were giving away the fact the telegram form dated to 1914, a solution was at hand.....
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| 1914 Western Union telegram form made to appear to have been utilized in December 15 of 1903, as offered at auction in 2019 with names of WU president and vice-presidents dating to 1914. |
An attempt was made to remove the printed line that included Newcomb Carlton's name, but the erasure was incomplete, leaving remnants of letters, and a smudge along the text line of the telegram.
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| Incomplete attempt to remove Newcomb Carlton's name from 1914 WU telegram form. |
The new and improved product was offered again at auction, and successfully sold for $4400 plus 15% BP in January of 2022. A letter of certification was included.
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| 1914 Western Union telegram form made to appear to have been utilized in December 15 of 1903, as offered at auction in 2022 with names of WU president and vice-presidents removed. |
For a detailed account of the above telegrams, refer to my post
If collectors intend to invest their finances in historical documents, they need to know their subject.
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Dealers that don't know their subject-
I
am in
the habit of contacting sellers with errors in their listings and providing what I believe to be
the correct information concerning the item, and often receive a kind
response. Occasionally however, my comments are ignored, or rejected as
inaccurate. It is disheartening when the item sells, for I know two
things have occurred. First, that the buyer has unknowingly paid too
much for an incorrectly identified item, and second, that this buyer
will then continue the false history out of ignorance as he shows the
item to friends, and eventually sells or passes the item on years later.
Some of the commonly misidentified material I've observed:
- Photo of a bi-plane incorrectly identified as a Wright Brothers airplane. This occurs often. Many sellers simply identify a photo of any bi-plane as "a Wright Brother style of airplane".
- Photo of a bi-plane with two men standing in front of it, and misidentified as Wilbur and Orville Wright. And if the bi-plane just happens to actually be a Wright model, then of course any two men standing near by must be Wilbur and Orville, right?? And if one has a mustache, or one is wearing a derby, then who else could the men possibly be? (Other than 10,000 other individuals).
- Postcards, photos, or envelopes with questionable Orville or Wilbur Wright signatures. I have seen so many of these, I'd estimate at least 75% of all the signed postcards, photos, or envelopes offered do not have genuine signatures by the Wright Brothers. Beware of signatures on removed autograph book pages, or on scraps of paper or cards. How do you determine if they are genuine?
- Period press photos with forged Orville Wright signature. In what circumstance would a press photo be removed from the archives of a newspaper and brought to Orville Wright for his signature? I had not seen these listed prior to 2019. How interesting that suddenly many "signed" press photos have come to the market (sarcasm intended). And not a one of them authenticated by a trusted Authentication service.
- Books signed by O. Wright, or Orville Wright, where the book has no connection with aviation, and no connection with Dayton Ohio, yet it is assumed that this Orville Wright is the Orville of the Wright Brothers. Orville Wright was a common name! Even though the signature doesn't match the handwriting of the aviator Orville, people will throw money at these offers thinking they obtained a bargain.
- Historically inaccurate, impossible, or highly unlikely claims made concerning an item supposedly associated with the Wright Brothers (such as the telegram pictured above).
- Photo of bike shop and workers, which of course then must be Wilbur and Orville Wright and their brother Lloyd as claimed by the seller (I am not making this up), because again, who else could they possibly be? (Other than 10,000 other bike shops and work crew of the time period).
The following are some examples of items I've seen offered:
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|
The
photo below is of Orville Wright at Ft. Myer, 1908, likely from September 3rd.
He is walking with a group of people, and the man next to him happens
to be wearing a derby. A period press photo which shows less of this
overall photo, just Orville and the man in the derby was being offered
for sale on E-bay. This man was misidentified as Wilbur Wright by the
seller. One would think the
presence of Orville's name on the photo, and the absence of Wilbur's
name would be a huge clue that the man in the derby is not Wilbur
Wright. The man doesn't look like Wilbur, but he is wearing a derby,
and so this photo of Orville Wright and a man wearing a derby was
offered for only $1950.00 or best offer, or the buyer could make 24 easy
payments of just $91.00 per month for a press photo worth
perhaps.....$91.00.
This photo is from the George Grantham Bain collection, and can be viewed at the Library of Congress website, specifically at ggb2004002171 . The photo is identified as Orville Wright 467-9, written across the top of the photo, from 1908. Wilbur's name is absent for obvious reasons, as Wilbur was across the Atlantic ocean at this time, in Le Mans, France. This photo can be downloaded at no cost from the Library of Congress.
A portion of the photo above showing Orville Wright was published in the September 20th, 1908 issue of the Morning Oregonian, Portland Oregon, (and likely in many other papers) concerning the news of the fatal crash of September 17th at Ft. Myer in which Thomas Selfridge died, and Orville was injured.
This photo is from the George Grantham Bain collection, and can be viewed at the Library of Congress website, specifically at ggb2004002171 . The photo is identified as Orville Wright 467-9, written across the top of the photo, from 1908. Wilbur's name is absent for obvious reasons, as Wilbur was across the Atlantic ocean at this time, in Le Mans, France. This photo can be downloaded at no cost from the Library of Congress.
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| Orville Wright at Ft. Myer, 1908, courtesy of Library of Congress Bain Collection. |
A portion of the photo above showing Orville Wright was published in the September 20th, 1908 issue of the Morning Oregonian, Portland Oregon, (and likely in many other papers) concerning the news of the fatal crash of September 17th at Ft. Myer in which Thomas Selfridge died, and Orville was injured.
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| Morning Oregonian, Portland, Oregon, September 20, 1908. |
Be aware that just because an item has been certified as genuine, does
not guarantee that the item has been correctly identified! The following
two checks offered for sale on e-bay were certified as
Orville Wright checks by PSA/DNA, while in fact, they clearly are
in the hand writing of Lorin Wright.
PSA/DNA is "the world's leading third-party authentication service for autographs and memorabilia" per their website. Maybe so, but they sure got it wrong on these two checks. Lorin Wright wrote many checks, signing them "Wright Brothers", or signing them "Orville Wright", while usually adding his initial "L" under the signature, but not always. Lorin's handwriting is very distinctive, and easily identifiable, and easily distinguished from Orville or Wilbur's handwriting. These are still nice Lorin Wright checks, but they should be identified as such. Lorin Wright checks sell in the $150 to $350 range. Orville Wright checks generally start at $350, and value is dependent of how early the date is, and to whom the check is made to.
Anyone can make a mistake, as has occurred here with PSA/DNA. If these checks were sent back to PSA/DNA, they would no doubt recognize the error, and make a correction.
Though the Lorin Wright check (pictured below) is misidentified as an Orville Wright check, it is still very interesting, in that it is made out to Frank Hale, and an early date of 1909. Frank Hale has signed the check on the rear face. Frank lived adjacent to the Wright's Cycle shop, and complained of the noise made by the Wright's engine tests. Frank was a life long friend of the Wrights, and Lorin Wright served on the Dayton City Commission with Frank in the 1920's as Frank Hale served as Mayor
PSA/DNA is "the world's leading third-party authentication service for autographs and memorabilia" per their website. Maybe so, but they sure got it wrong on these two checks. Lorin Wright wrote many checks, signing them "Wright Brothers", or signing them "Orville Wright", while usually adding his initial "L" under the signature, but not always. Lorin's handwriting is very distinctive, and easily identifiable, and easily distinguished from Orville or Wilbur's handwriting. These are still nice Lorin Wright checks, but they should be identified as such. Lorin Wright checks sell in the $150 to $350 range. Orville Wright checks generally start at $350, and value is dependent of how early the date is, and to whom the check is made to.
Anyone can make a mistake, as has occurred here with PSA/DNA. If these checks were sent back to PSA/DNA, they would no doubt recognize the error, and make a correction.
Though the Lorin Wright check (pictured below) is misidentified as an Orville Wright check, it is still very interesting, in that it is made out to Frank Hale, and an early date of 1909. Frank Hale has signed the check on the rear face. Frank lived adjacent to the Wright's Cycle shop, and complained of the noise made by the Wright's engine tests. Frank was a life long friend of the Wrights, and Lorin Wright served on the Dayton City Commission with Frank in the 1920's as Frank Hale served as Mayor
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| Checks incorrectly identified by PSA/DNA as "Orville Wright". These are completely in the hand of Lorin Wright. |
For comparison, the following is an example of Lorin Wright's signature on the back of a check.
Lorin's handwriting is flowery. The W has a loop, and is very different than Orville or Wilbur's "W"
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| Genuine Lorin Wright signature. Compare the "W" with the "W" in Wright Brothers in the two checks above. |
For more on Wright Brother checks, including examples of non-genuine Wright Brother checks, see my post
Photos misidentified as those of the Wright Brothers are often listed on E-bay. Over the past decade, I've studied hundreds of photographs of the entire extended Wright family. The following photos in no way resemble Wilbur or Orville Wright.
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| These photos were incorrectly identified by the E-bay seller as of the Wright Brothers; the top three claimed to be of Orville Wright, and the bottom photo of Orville and Wilbur. Note the pinky ring worn by the man, visible in the top right picture- Orville never in his life wore a pinky ring. |
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| E-bay seller is offering this photo which he indicates just might be of the Wright Brothers. Seller isn't sure, but you can own it for just $199. These men in no way resemble the Wrights. |
I've seen many photographs on E-bay that are offered incorrectly as depicting a Wright aeroplane. The following two photo's received multiple bids, which
is confusing, as they clearly are not Wright items. The first was
identified as a Wright plane. Anyone familiar with the various Wright
models can instantly see that this is not a picture of a Wright plane.
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| Photo misidentified as a Wright Aeroplane. Clearly, it is not. |
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| For comparison, pictured here is the genuine Wright Model E at Simms Station, the first model to have a single pusher propeller. Compare this to the misidentified photo above this one. |
The second photo was described as "features Wilbur
Wright posing for the photo....The photos are affixed to scrapbook
paper. The name "Wilbur" is written on the back of the photo." It is a common theme that when the name "Wilbur" is written on a period aviation related photo, an assumption is made this Wilbur must be Wilbur Wright. Three bidders competed for these photos,
which eventually sold for $104.50. The value of a picture of a man named
Wilbur, and an early biplane? Perhaps $15.
A unique photograph of Wilbur Wright would likely sell for $500 to $1000 or more. Compare this photo below to a genuine photo of Wilbur.
A unique photograph of Wilbur Wright would likely sell for $500 to $1000 or more. Compare this photo below to a genuine photo of Wilbur.
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| Comparison of the two photos side by side. Wilbur Wright on the left, and someone by the name of Wilbur on the right. I've aligned the photos such that the shoulders and arms match lengths, yet note that the waist location does not match, and that the individual on the right is clearly taller. Wilbur Wright was 5'-10" or so. The man on the right appears to be at least 6' tall. |
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| This photo was offered on E-bay by a seller claiming it was an early model of a Wright Flyer, and the man pictured was Orville Wright. Clearly, it is not. No such Wright model ever existed, and the man is not Orville Wright. |
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| This man is not Orville Wright. Orville did not part his hair down the middle. Orville would not have rolled his sleeves up in this manner. The face does not resemble Orville Wright. |
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| Earnest Zens and Wilbur Wright, September 16, 1908, Le Mans, France. Modern produced misidentified refrigerator magnet. |
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| This card is currently available on E-bay with a photograph of some guy with at mustache. I guess that qualifies him as Orville Wright. How can a company produce a product without even researching what Orville Wright actually looked like? I have no idea who this person actually is. He looks a bit like Nicola Tesla, but the hair is combed differently. But it can be yours for just $1.69 and $3.49 shipping. Hey, give one to each of your grand-kids, and maybe they'll pass with D's in history! |
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| For the matching card to the one above, I guess when your product slogan is "Diverse", it doesn't really matter if the picture is of Wilbur Wright, or just someone losing their hair. Again, I have no idea who this is, other than it is not Wilbur Wright! |
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| Can you guess which one is not like the others, before I finish this post? |
The item below was signed O. E. Wright, and the seller claimed that this was
Orville Wright's signature, of the Wright Brothers. I informed the
seller that Orville Wright had no middle name; none of the Wright
children had middle names. The seller's response to my information was
"How do you know, you weren't there" or something along those lines.
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| Signature of Orville E. Wright, Music teacher, and Edgar W. Ellis, member of the Ten Dayton Boys. |
Orville
Wright was not a unique name in Dayton. This person was in fact Orville
E. Wright, a music teacher at Steele High School where Katharine Wright
taught through 1908.
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| Orville E. Wright, Music Teacher. Not the Orville Wright of the Wright Brothers. From author's collection. |
Edgar
W Ellis was a member of the Ten Dayton Boys, a club which included
William Andrews, Charles W. Olinger, Joseph Boyd, Irvin G. Koogle,
Wilbur E. Landis, Reuchlin Wright, Lorin Wright, Wilbur Wright, and
Frank J. Gilbert. Edgar Ellis was the last man standing, the last
survivor of the Ten Dayton Boys Club. Edgar Ellis is furthest to the
right, rear row in photo below. Wilbur is center, rear row. The other
men....wait....they all have mustaches....they must all be Orville
Wright!
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| Ten Dayton Boys Club, courtesy of Special Collections & Archives, Wright State University |
This next one is really bad, beyond embarrassing. Offered in an Aviation auction, the seller wrote "Hand-written
note in black ink dated and signed "Wilbur"...card is cancelled Dayton,
Ohio Jun 17, 1909...Since Wilbur Wright died of Typhoid in 1912, his
autograph is far more rare than his brother Orville who lived until
1948. A highly desirable early aviation autograph..." The front of the postcard pictured "Military Band in Parade at Wright Bros. Home-Coming Celebration at Dayton, Ohio." The card's value was estimated between $3000 and $4000. It did not sell.
How the seller made the leap from identifying the signer of this card as
Wilbur Wright from all the other "Wilbur's" who might have attended the
celebration, I have no idea. The signature looks nothing like Wilbur's
signature. The hand-written note has no similarities at all to Wilbur
Wright's handwriting style. The message is not characteristic of what
Wilbur would have conveyed. And who is Miss Mary Dawson? Is she even
someone associated with Wilbur Wright?
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| 1909 Wright Brother's Home Celebration card sent by an observer by the name of Wilbur. |
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| Postcard message from "Wilbur", offered at auction. Compare the "W" in the signature to an actual signature of Wilbur Wright below. Do they match? Does any of the handwriting match? |
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| Genuine letter written January 25, 1912 by Wilbur Wright. There are absolutely no similarities in the genuine handwriting style or the signature of Wilbur Wright to the handwriting and signature of "Wilbur" from the 1909 postcard above. |
While working on the restoration of the 1905 Wright Flyer III in 1947/48, and then following with preparing drawings of the 1903 Kitty Hawk Flyer, Louis Christman made many sketches and hand calculations on the dimensions of the various components of the Flyers. His descendants offered Christman's personal archive of his sketches and notes at auction in 2013 and 2015. These sketches were sold in groups through a reputable auction house. A group of the sketches were then resold individually on E-bay by one of the purchasers. The historical account as provided by the auction house was simply repeated by the E-bay seller. The auction house had the collection examined by an expert, and the history of the items was as provided to them from the original owner. I believe intentions of all involved was honorable, but this doesn't change the fact that the history was Wrong! (3)
Historical account as stated by seller-
"You are bidding on an original component drawing of the Wright
Flyer made by Louis P. Christman, mathematical notes in red ink by
Orville Wright. The mathematical data shown was done when Christman
returned to Dayton and conferred with Colonel Edward Deeds and Orville
Wright. The original owner relates that these working
drawings and notes/calculations were done before final drawings of the
reconstruction were produced. As an employee of National Cash Register,
with his experience in aircraft and machine design, Louis P. Christman
was called upon by prominent engineer and inventor, Colonel Edward
Deeds, to undertake the restoration of the 1905 Wright Flyer, which
resides at Carillon Park, Dayton, Ohio. Christman was given the
opportunity to work closely with Orville Wright in order to produce an
accurate set of drawings for the 1903, 1904, and 1905 Wright Flyers.
Since no complete drawings were ever produced by Orville and Wilbur
during the building and flying of the planes, it was required that Christman travel to Washington, D.C.
to the Smithsonian Institution to take measurements and make drawings
from the original 1903 Flyer that is displayed there and to discuss
these drawings with Orville Wright. Christman worked closely with Orville Wright to produce an accurate set of drawings. In creating plans for the 1903 Flyer, Christman
traveled to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. to take
measurements and make drawings from the original 1903 Flyer displayed
there and later the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia to study, and
trace, informal drawings the Wright brothers had done. Back in Dayton,
he would discuss these notes with Orville Wright. Continued meetings
and conversations between Orville Wright and Christman resulted in a
refined set of drawings of the numerous gliders and planes. Christman,
under the direction of Deeds, then began the restoration of the 1905
Flyer in 1947, on the grounds of the National Cash Register Co. Final
construction and assembly was completed at Carillon Historical Park,
where the plane was reassembled and fabric was stretched. The plane in
on display there today."
The Smithsonian Institution did not obtain the 1903 Wright Flyer until October of 1948.
The Franklin Institute Wright Brothers collection was obtained through Orville Wright's will- "Dr. Orville Wright deeded to the Franklin Institute in his will and through the Executor's of his Estate all of his and his brother's, Wilbur Wright's, original wind tunnel apparatus, model airfoils, test data and drawings of their early airplanes..."
Obviously, Christman could not have discussed anything with Orville Wright related to his trips to the Smithsonian or the Franklin Institute, because Orville was no longer living!
- Conflicts of the above account to the actual historical time line of events-
The Smithsonian Institution did not obtain the 1903 Wright Flyer until October of 1948.
The Franklin Institute Wright Brothers collection was obtained through Orville Wright's will- "Dr. Orville Wright deeded to the Franklin Institute in his will and through the Executor's of his Estate all of his and his brother's, Wilbur Wright's, original wind tunnel apparatus, model airfoils, test data and drawings of their early airplanes..."
Obviously, Christman could not have discussed anything with Orville Wright related to his trips to the Smithsonian or the Franklin Institute, because Orville was no longer living!
Absolutely,
these sketches are genuine sketches by Louis Christman. But are the
marks in red on these sketches by Orville Wright? That is the question.
Buyers have spent hundreds of dollars believing that they are. The
sketches are still of interest and value, but that value decreases if no
notes in red by Orville Wright exist.
Who performed the analysis of the handwriting to confirm it is
in the hand of Orville Wright? I doubt anyone performed this
analysis, as the evidence is pretty clear that the same hand is responsible for both the notes and calculations in pencil, and the notes and calculations in red!
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| Calculations in red are attributed to Orville Wright, and calculations in pencil are attributed to Louis Christman. But is the handwriting different? Compare the 186.266/360 in pencil above to the 186.2/360 in red below. Do these appear to be written in different hands? Additionally, notice how the 4's in pencil and the 4's in red are closed 4's. Occasionally in pencil and in red there is an open 4. Orville Wright always made his 4's open. Yet, these Christman drawings are covered with closed 4's in red. So how are these mathematical notes in the hand of Orville Wright? |
For a complete discussion on the Louis Christman sketches with further handwriting analysis, refer to my post-
If collectors intend to invest their finances in historical documents, they need to know their subject, and understand that sometimes dealers get their facts wrong.
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Dealers intentionally selling forgeries-
Beware of postcards, press photos, and anniversary first flight covers. When the item is being offered at a low buy-it-now price, or best offer, be suspicious. And when the same seller has a new item like this week after week after week, be very suspicious.
- Do not compare the signature with those on other covers or postcards as you will likely be comparing to another forged signature. Hundreds of forged Orville Wright covers and postcards all with the same forged OW signature have sold over the past ten years and are continuing to sell. A newer development in recent years has been production of dual signed forged Wilbur and Orville Wright postcards as pictured earlier in this post.
- A genuine signed Orville Wright postcard or cover sell in the range of $500 to $1200 or higher. When offered, these are often encased, certified by PSA/DNA, JSA or other reputable certifying company. Forged covers are at times being offered in this price range; high price does not imply the item is genuine. Genuine dual signed Wilbur and Orville items are rare, and would sell in the $8500 to $30,000 range.
- Beware of statements such as "Genuine signature. Item is not a reproduction or copy." All this really states is the signature is a genuine signature, (but by whom?), and that the cover or postcard is a genuine item from that time period in lieu of a modern print. A "genuine signature" simply means the signature is written in ink in lieu of a photocopy or print of a signature- genuinely written in ink by the forger. I have also seen sellers "guarantee" the signed item, by offering a refund if a third party determines the signature is forged. Don't let this sway you into thinking the item likely is the real thing. Anyone can make that guarantee, and so what if one out of five buyers returns the item. It will just be re-offered a month later to some other unsuspecting collector.
- Forged Orville Wright postcards or covers are most often offered at a low buy it now price, with "make offer" accepted. These items often are accompanied with a COA. A good number of dealers have a business relationship with an disreputable COA who simply certifies every forged item sold.
- A COA (Certificate of Authenticity) is only as good at the authentication company offering the services. E-bay provides a list of recommended authentication services on their policies pages. Further, E-bay provides a list of COA's (nearly two dozen) that are not allowed on their Autographed items policy page. Click on "Read Our Full Policy", and then click on "Certificates of Authenticity" to get to the disallowed list of COA's. Despite the policy, sellers continue to list forged items using COA's from the banned COA list. Often, the seller will simply indicate that a COA will be included, without even identifying the COA company. Check the E-bay list of recommended authentication services. A good number of sellers utilize COA's that do not appear on the E-bay banned list, and do not appear in the FBI list. The absence of the COA from these lists does not guarantee they are legitimate. (The E-bay banned list has not been updated in years, and could easily be doubled or tripled in length.)
- Avoid the 25th anniversary of the first airplane flight Capt. B. B. Lipsner covers with Orville Wright's "signature". I have seen a great number of these covers offered, and the majority are forged. These covers originally were prepared and signed by Lipsner. His name is printed on the cover, with the title "The first superintendent to blaze the air mail trail for the U.S. Post Office Department in 1918." He signed his name above his printed name. A forger has taken dozens of these period envelopes and signed Orville's name angled across the center. Of several dozen of these offered over the past few years, I've seen perhaps three of which Orville's signature appeared as possibly correct, and these were envelopes with hand written addresses to Lipsner's family.(4)
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| Genuine B.B. Lipsner 1928 cover. These were produced and signed by Lipsner. A forger can very easily take this cover above and add Orville Wright's name to it, and offer it for sale. |
An article in The Independent, Elizabeth City, N.C. December 21, 1928 indicated, "Stamp collectors and souvenir hunters kept the Kitty Hawk post office busy this week when 5700 air mail letters had to be cancelled. Postmaster Elijah Baum turned the living room of his home, which adjoins the post office, into a business office for two officials from the Post Office Department in Washington, who were sent down to help take car of the avalanche of mail. The international importance of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Wright flights and the celebration there on Monday made the stamps valuable in the eyes of collectors of rare stamps." Note that nothing is mentioned of there being a sizable number of envelopes signed by Orville Wright. Only the collectable interest of the stamps is mentioned.
If collectors intend to invest their finances in historical documents, they need to know their subject, and understand that sometimes dealers get their facts wrong, either unknowingly, or intentionally.
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Check the Seller's sales history-
Unfortunately, it is not just a handful of individuals selling collectables with recently applied simulated Wright signatures. I have digital files documenting sales of dozens of dealers and auction sites participating in this practice over the past decade, and I'm sure they represent just the tip of the iceberg. I assume many operate under more than one name.
When searching for Wright collectables on E-bay, if a questionable item appears in the search, check the sellers other items, and then check their available history in their feedback record. More recent sales records will still be accessible for a number of months. Don't look for negative feedback, as there likely won't be any. The purchasers of these items typically have no idea they've obtained non-genuine signatures.
The Wright items will be a small portion of the dealer's overall sales offers. Look also for questionable Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Harry Houdini, Babe Ruth, etc. "signatures". If a dealer is selling some questionable items, likely everything he is selling is questionable. Does it appear the seller has an endless supply of rare signatures?
When searching for Wright collectables on Liveauctioneers.com or Invaluable.com, look at the individual dealer's sales records. Years of sales are archived on these websites.
- Does the dealer appear to have an unlimited supply of photographs and postcards signed by both Wilbur and Orville Wright? Historically, postcards and photographs signed by both brothers are very rare.
- Does the dealer only sell signed postcards, envelopes, photographs, and scrap paper? Doesn't it make sense their sales should also include the occasional letter (which would be much more difficult to fabricate)?
- Do any of the items include authentication by PSA/DNA, JSA, or Beckett? If not, search on-line the reputation of the COA that is utilized. Is everything the dealer sells certified by a lesser known COA?
- Compare the final sale price of the items. Dual signed Wright Brother items should not routinely sell for less than $10,000. If you find dozens of such items sold over a period of months or years for less than this amount, ask yourself how a dealer or auction house could remain in business making such poor sales transactions if actually selling genuine signatures? Keep in mind, occasionally, a forged item will sell for $5000 to $10,000 due to the ignorance of competing buyers.
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Know the Value-
I've written a number of posts on collecting specific types of Wright Brother items, including sale prices, which would be beneficial reading prior to making purchases.
Related Posts-
Gleaning the History from Wright Brother Checks- Their styles and values.
Value of Historical Items Associated with the Wright Brothers
The 1903 Wright Flyer Fabric and Wood Remnants
Collecting Historical Items Associated with the Wright BrothersCollecting Letters of Orville Wright- Their Historical Content and Values
Collecting Letters of Wilbur Wright- Their Historical Content and Values
In Summary- If collectors intend to invest their finances in historical documents, they need to know their subject, understand that sometimes dealers get their facts wrong, while there are other dealers that have full knowledge they are offering forged collectables. Search the dealer's history, look at sales records, and know the values of genuine items.
Additional sources-
The FBI Operation Bullpen.
Copyright 2025-Getting the Story Wright
The FBI Operation Bullpen.
Copyright 2025-Getting the Story Wright
Notes-
1. Milton Wright letter to Grand-niece Grace Frazier, October 28, 1912. From Author's collection.
2. Postcards purchased by the Author for the specific purpose of sharing them in this post as examples of period cards with modern non-genuine Wright signatures. The seller simply sold the cards as period cards, with no mention at all of the signatures.
3. The Louis Christman sketches and prints
continue to be offered for resale on E-bay by various dealers and
collectors, all repeating the same "history" as originally published by
the highly respected Auction firm. Major lesson to be learned here-
Misinformation does not become truth based on the number of times it is
repeated by multiple sources. It remains misinformation.
Wright State University obtained 23 Louis Christman prints in 2013 from the same Auction firm, and unknowingly repeated the incorrect history in their documentation of the collection MS-477. Within MS-477 the paragraph was repeated " Christman, (1893-1972), an employee of National Cash Register, worked closely with Orville Wright to produce an accurate set of drawings. In creating plans for the 1903 Flyer, Christman traveled to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. to take measurements and make drawings from the original 1903 Flyer displayed there and later the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia to study, and trace informal drawings the Wright Brothers had done. Back in Dayton, he would discuss these notes with Orville Wright."
Wright State University obtained 23 Louis Christman prints in 2013 from the same Auction firm, and unknowingly repeated the incorrect history in their documentation of the collection MS-477. Within MS-477 the paragraph was repeated " Christman, (1893-1972), an employee of National Cash Register, worked closely with Orville Wright to produce an accurate set of drawings. In creating plans for the 1903 Flyer, Christman traveled to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. to take measurements and make drawings from the original 1903 Flyer displayed there and later the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia to study, and trace informal drawings the Wright Brothers had done. Back in Dayton, he would discuss these notes with Orville Wright."
MS-477 has yet to be corrected, as search on-line
continues to bring up the original wording. When I informed a seller of
the incorrect history in his item description of a Louis Christman
drawing indicating the incorrect history above, I was told by the seller
that WSU indicates the same history on their website, so obviously I
must be mistaken. How frustrating this all is!
Just an interesting example of how misinformation can snowball- similar to today's "fake news" events.
By the way, I have had conversations with both the Auction firm and WSU, and both agree that the history as worded was incorrect. Of course Orville Wright could not have been involved in any discussions with Louis Christman in Christman's work associated with the Smithsonian or Franklin Institute archives, as Orville Wright was no longer living at this time. I assume WSU hasn't made the corrections in the archives simply because it is lost in a long list of items to take care of. And the Auction firm lists thousands of items for sale month by month, and can't possibly follow up on every previous sale and provide corrections.
Just an interesting example of how misinformation can snowball- similar to today's "fake news" events.
By the way, I have had conversations with both the Auction firm and WSU, and both agree that the history as worded was incorrect. Of course Orville Wright could not have been involved in any discussions with Louis Christman in Christman's work associated with the Smithsonian or Franklin Institute archives, as Orville Wright was no longer living at this time. I assume WSU hasn't made the corrections in the archives simply because it is lost in a long list of items to take care of. And the Auction firm lists thousands of items for sale month by month, and can't possibly follow up on every previous sale and provide corrections.
4. The B.B. Lipsner
covers were prepared and signed by
Lipsner. There is no indication that these were produced with the
intention for Orville Wright to sign them. Lipsner's name is printed on
these envelopes, and he signed his name above his printed name. There is
no such similar arrangement for Orville. His name is not printed, but
simply listed as "Wright Brothers", one section of two columns with the
names of 19 other aviation notables. The back side of the envelope is
stamped "This is to certify as a member and guest of the
International Civil Aeronautics Conference, called by President Calvin
Coolidge, to mark the first quarter century of human flight; I
accompanied Hon. Orville Wright from Washington, D.C. to Kill Devil
Hill, N.C.. On the entire pilgrimage I carried this commemorative cover
and finally mailed it personally at the place and on the date as
postmarked" (Signed) B. B. Lipsner. No where is it mentioned that Orville Wright also signed the cover.
5. The Independent, Elizabeth City, N.C., December 21, 1928, "When Kitty Hawk P. O. Has a Rush"
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