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Thursday, July 24, 2025

Louis Christman drawings of the 1903 and 1905 Wright Flyers

The following discussion on Louis Christman and the drawings he produced of the 1903 and 1905 Wright Flyers was originally a section within my post "Buyer Beware When Collecting Wright Brother Items". Because the topic was extensive, I've separated this portion into its own post, and will eventually provide additional content. 

Louis Christman sketches of 1903 and 1905 Wright Flyers with Orville Wright notes in red-

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! (1)

Absolutely, these sketches are genuine sketches by Louis Christman. But are the marks in red on some of these sketches by Orville Wright as claimed in the original auctions and then the reselling of individual sketches? 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 should not be based on the belief that notes in red are by Orville Wright.
Consider the following:

  • 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."
  • Conflicts of the above account to the actual historical time line of events-  
Orville Wright died January 30th, 1948.
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!
  • Examination of the calculations and notes in red claimed to be by Orville Wright-
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!
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?



Are we to believe that Louis Christman's (in pencil) and Orville Wright's  numbering (in red) above, is this similar? Do these appear to be written by different hands?



Genuine example of Orville Wright's handwriting. Note the open style 4. All his 4's are open style, even back to his diary from the 1900's at Kitty Hawk. Yet, on the Christman drawings, most of the 4's in red are closed style.


Compare "Left Side" in pencil to "Left Side" in red in two examples above.


Are we to believe that Louis Christman's and Orville Wright's handwriting is this similar?


  • Comparison of handwriting in red claimed to be by Orville Wright to actual examples of Orville Wright's handwriting-
What known examples exist of Orville Wright's handwriting that look anything like these marks in red claimed to be by Orville Wright? 
Orville's handwriting remained amazingly consistent throughout his lifetime.  Below is an example from a letter written by Orville in 1909. Take note of the R in Russian, and how the I is written as two examples. Compare these to the I and R in envelopes written by Orville in 1929, 1942, and 1946, and note how consistent his writing style is.
Genuine Orville Wright letter from 1909.

Note the way the "R" appears in Russian, and the "I" in I am. Then compare to the 1929, 1942, and 1946 script below.


Genuine Orville Wright handwriting from 1929 envelope.

Genuine Orville Wright handwriting from 1942 envelope.

Genuine Orville Wright handwriting in 1946. Note the "R" in Rev, and the "I" in Indiana. Very characteristic of Orville's life long handwriting. These characteristics should appear somewhere in the writing in red ink on the Louis Christman drawings, shouldn't they? Compare Orville's R of 1909, 1929, 1942, and 1946 to the R on the Christman sketches below.

"R" from the Christman drawings claimed to be by Orville, has large loop not seen in Orville's handwriting.

Letters in red claimed to be written by Orville Wright on Christman sketches.
Two more examples from Christman drawings, the "R" has large loop in front not characteristic of Orville Wright's handwriting style. Note how the "F" is written in "First". See below for how Orville writes an "F". Do they match?
Genuine Orville Wright handwriting, note the style of the "F" in France and February. Nothing like the backward "F" above in "First" in the Christman drawing example.

    
  • In the words of Louis Christman, his own account of the process-   
From transcript provided by University of Dayton, Wright Brothers- Charles F. Kettering Oral History Project, Louis Christman interviewed by Susan Bennet April or May of 1967- (notes in italics are mine)

Susan Bennent (SB)- How long did it take? (reconstruction of 1905 Flyer)
Louis Christman (LC)- Well, it took me about a year and a half.
SB- A year and a half. Why was it, why did it take that long?
LC- Oh, it was a lot of work. You had to do on that. You see, for three months prior to when I went to work there in, I think it was November, last part of October, November, I spent afternoons with Orville Wright talking about the airplane.
SB- What did he say?
LC- Well, he was telling me different things, you see. And what I had read up or when I questioned him, and the odd part of it was that if I was to sit down with a pencil and paper, and take notes, he would clam up.
SB- He wouldn't talk.
LC- So, my job was to pay attention to what he said, and the minute he left, I'd get busy. Now I was working then...
SB- Now, did he have, did he have any blueprints or drawings, or anything?
LC- No.
SB- Well, now when you talk with Mr. Wright, in the afternoon, what would he talk about? I mean what would he say, this plane is going to be, was this long or was....
LC- Just what he said there.
SB- or use what curve or what? I don't. Did he give you any pictures to work from?
LC- No. I got these pictures from NCR.
SB- When, where did you all talk? At his home? Or his laboratory? Or where?
LC- No, at the NCR.
SB- At the NCR; he would come down there.
LC- In an office up there in Mr. Smith's department. Sat back in the back office of Mr. Smith's. And later on, when he came out, to as I was working over there in that frame building he'd come over there in that frame building. Maybe two, three days a week. And I know one time I talked to Colonel Deeds. I said, Colonel, I have an idea and I want your approval. I would like to get a tape recorder concealed and conceal the microphone so that when I talk to Mr. Wright, I get this data. Because I said that I've got an awful job trying to memorize each day as we go along because the minute he gets out of here, I sit down and try to put notes down, and then start working on my drawing. And I said I won't do it. (Perhaps transcript incorrect here- Likely should read "And he said don't do it.") Mr. Wright would never forgive you for going (doing) a trick like that and he'd never forgive me, because I knew Orville. So please don't do it. I didn't.
SB- Well, he would, would he tell the angle fuse or things like that, or what would he talk about?
LC- Oh, different flights...
SB- Oh.
LC- How, how he'd shape. Orville Wright had, he'd had the habit of little notebooks. They were books about that long, about that wide see, carry it in the vest pocket, and that was full of all kinds of notes what they did. And as they went along, they made changes in their plane. If it broke something, smashed up, they had notes in there. Those are now in the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. Now I had permission to go through those papers, through the administrator of Wright Estate, Mr. Buzz Miller.(This was after Orville's death) And I was allowed to go to Washington and under supervision of a guard there....
SB- When, when did you go?
LC- That was in 1948.
SB-Oh, oh, when you, when you were working on this plane, they let you do that.
LC- Late '48.
LC- I had the overall figure from the very tip of that. And Orville Wright looked in a book. He says, no sir, that was three quarters of an inch longer than our figure. I sat there for quite a while, and tried to figure out what he meant......(no mention that Orville marked it in red on a drawing)
Oh, I worked on the (wing curve). I had my drawing too. And I had one of the ribs, ribs downstairs see, and I had it laid out and I made a model and the next time that Orville Wright came out, I showed it to him. He looked it over and he checked my drawings. He asked about one difference. I'll show you how we fixed the end of the wire. And he showed me what it was, where you had to, uppercut strip of the bottom cut strip come in and put a saw slot in there, and that trailing edge wire of the fabric laid in there, see. So I made the thing, he made another one, and showed it to him. He told me, he said, "Oh Louis", he said, "You're going too fast on this job. You got time, you're doing fine here and all this stuff is working out, you just go ahead." And, in fact, just before he died, I had three drawings, and he was out there at the plant with Mr. Hoist (?) (Likely Mr. Beust), Colonel Deeds, and in this room where I was working, at that train building, I told Mr. Wright, I said I'm going to put these out in your car. So next week if you have a chance, just look them over and let me know if I'm on the right track, or words to that effect. I never got those drawings, because Orville Wright died, see, he had that stroke and died. And Miss Beck, his private secretary would not let me have those drawings.
(Many pages later in the interview Christman talks about making sketches of the 1903 Flyer)
LC-.....Now when that plane came back here in 19....., 1949, I think it was when it came back here. (the 1903 flyer was returned in 1948) I went to Washington to get my batter, to make these drawings, in fact, Mr. Geyer and myself were scheduled to go to England to make these drawings of the Kitty Hawk, because so many people wanted to build a model or replica of the airplane, but they got their information from this magazine, or that magazine, everybody seemed to be an authority on it, but nothing was authentic. But then Orville Wright had decided that the plane was to come back here when the United States government gave them the recognition, and so the plane was brought back here, and I made, well just before they set it up. And then when it was set up over there, and I almost killed myself on one visit over there, by getting up on a high ladder and the plane is suspended by four cables and I was leaning against that edge, see? And here I was pushing that plane, and it started swaying.
SB- Oh, Oh.
LC- But I finally, I finally got down, and when I got down I wasn't worth a darn for the rest of the day.
(laughter)
LC- But I got a pair of field glasses, so I could get up in distances, in different elevations, and I'd studied things from that plane, on that plane from I don't know, used my imagination a little, that's just so far, see? And I come back and check my drawings that I had. I had to make a complete set of those drawings.......

Available through the University of Dayton Archival and Special Collections, "Guide to the Wright Brothers- Charles F. Kettering Oral History Project" (Jennifer Brancato, UD, 6-2015), Box 2, Folder 3, Louis Christman.

  • Conclusion-
From the above statements of Louis Christman, there is no mention of Orville Wright adding redmarks to drawings or sketches. In lieu of this, Louis describes how he would have to memorize whatever Orville had to share, and write it down after Orville left. Even suggesting to Colonel Deeds that a tape recorder be hidden to record what Orville had to say. Are we really to believe that Orville Wright made many calculations and notes in red ink on Christman's drawings, in a handwriting style identical to Christman's, on sketches made after Orville's death?
A simple comparison of the handwriting in pencil compared to that in red on these documents strongly indicates both are in the same hand in most cases, and are not in the style of Orville Wright.
It is unfortunate that these drawings are now in the hands of many collectors who have been told otherwise.  

Some examples of the Louis Christman sketches from the Author's collection-
 
Of the 250 or so sketches within the archive originally sold, I've obtained a number of the sketches.

 

 




Notes in Louis Christman's hand. He wrote, "Science Museum drawing data to be checked against actual Kitty Hawk Plane in Washington D.C."  Original notes are in graphite, and corrections are made in red. Red graphite or ink was simply used to differentiate between original notes, and later corrections, all in Christman's hand. Orville Wright died prior to the Kitty Hawk plane's return to the United States. 

The Louis Christman sketches, notes, and transmittal's are all really interesting. As these sold individually or in small collections, I followed many of the sales, and digitally saved jpegs of each document. Much that can be gleaned from this archive is lost with the division of all the pieces; but by saving a digital record of much of the archive, perhaps there is still hope. The documents I was able to obtain for my personal collection are related to the restoration of the 1905 Wright Flyer III. I hope to write a post in the future and share what I can. I obtained Christman's correspondence with The Diamond Chain Company, which documents the provision of chains for the 1905 Flyer restoration. I've shared these in my post:
 



Notes-

1. The Louis Christman sketches and prints continued 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." 
MS-477 has yet to be corrected, as a 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. So, we as collectors (and historians), need to do our due diligence.


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