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Large and impressive original matte-finish 15.5 x 11.75 silver gelatin photograph of Wilbur Wright and León Bollée standing side-by-side at the site of Bollée's automobile factory at Le Mans, France, in 1908. The photo was professionally removed from its paperboard mount and cleaned by a paper conservator, then remounted to medium-weight archival paper. In fine condition, with slight rippling to edges.
Provenance: Christie's NY, Park Avenue, 18 October 1990.
Wilbur Wright arrived in France in 1908 to conduct a series of public demonstration flights in order to secure a contract for the manufacture and sale of airplanes. There he was introduced to Léon Bollée, an automobile manufacturer and early advocate for aviation. The two became fast friends: in Wilbur's diary entry of June 8, 1908, he noted, 'I went down to Le Mans at the invitation of M. Léon Bollée to inspect some grounds. M. Bollée met us and took us about in his automobile to see several places of which the racecourse and the military field were the most desirable. He was very kind, and offered us the conveniences of his factory and a big room to assemble the machine in if we chose. We will probably locate here, as the conveniences offered by M. Bollée will be of great value.' In the biography The Bishop's Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright, author Tom Crouch observes: 'There were, in fact, few things Bollée would not have done for Wilbur. A sport balloonist and president of the Aéro-Club de la Sarthe, he would become the Wrights' closest friend in France.'
Wright indeed chose the Les Hunaudieres Race Course in Le Mans as the site for his first demonstration flight, conducted on August 8, 1908. This was the first of nine flights he made at Les Hunaudieres Race Course, before moving to a larger field at the nearby Camp d’Auvours. Wilbur's flights captivated the public, and he secured the French contract with ease.
