Group of three items related to Samuel P. Langley (1834-1906), an American astronomer, physicist, and aviator who conducted some of the first manned flights with his Army-funded Aerodrome aircraft, including: an original vintage 3.5 x 2.5 photograph of Langley's steam-powered Aerodrome No. 5 in flight on May 5, 1896; a TLS signed "S. P. Langley," two pages on Smithsonian Institution letterhead, October 4, 1894, to R. Morton Middleton, directing him to reports of the Smithsonian Institution, commenting on the National Zoological Park, and thanking him for a docile black wolf; and a booklet entitled "Samuel Pierpont Langley" by C. G. Abbot, published by the Smithsonian Institution in 1934, 57 pages, 6.5 x 9.5, with the bookplate of Audouin Dollfus affixed inside the front wrapper. In overall very good to fine condition, with creasing to the lower left corner and toning to the first page of the letter.
