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TLS, one page, 7.25 x 10.5, personal letterhead, April 3, 1938. Letter to Fred L. Black of The Edison Institute in Dearborn, Michigan, in full: “I received this morning, Sunday, the following cable from Mr. Brewer: ‘I find your kindness irresistible. Sailing Europa, Thursday, arriving New York, Tuesday, 12th. Will come Dayton next train. Please accept Mr. Ford's very kind invitation on my behalf. Griff.’ In my cable to Mr. Brewer I said nothing about the subject for his address, the amount of time, nor the fact that the speech would have to be written, because it is to go over the radio. I believe Brewer's acceptance completes your speaking program. If not, I would suggest that Stefansson be asked to give a talk on the Wright brothers’ contribution to Arctic and other exploration. Stefansson and Brewer are now very close friends. Their acquaintance came about through me. If you are assigning a subject for Mr. Brewer, I would like to know what the subject is, and at what time his manuscript would have to be in your hands.” Wright adds a short postscript: “Mr. Brewer's cable address is ‘INFALLIBLE, London.’ In fine condition, with a rusty paperclip impression to the top edge. Accompanied by a custom clamshell presentation case.
Griffith Brewer (1867-1948) was an English balloonist, aviator, patent agent, and a founding member of the Royal Aero Club. He became a friend of the Wright Brothers and was one of their main supporters. On October 8, 1908, at Camp d'Auvours, France, he flew as a passenger with Wilbur Wright and became the first Englishman to go up in an airplane. He became a close friend and supporter of the Wrights and made many trips to the U.S. to visit them. Griffith gained his pilot license in 1914 and, that same year, arranged that the British government should get use of the Wright's patents for £15,000, which meant that British aircraft manufacturers were free of the threat of litigation. Griffith served as president of the Royal Aeronautics Society from 1940-42.
Vilhjalmur Stefansson was an Arctic explorer and ethnologist (1879–1962) whose professional relationship with Orville Wright led to a brief but intense emotional relationship with Katharine Wright, the brothers’ younger sister, in the early 1920s, as documented in their extensive correspondence.
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