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1918 WWI US Battleplane Biplane Landing Harvard Stadium Glass Negative OOAK 4x5
Original, one-of-a-kind (OOAK) camera-original antique 4x5 gelatin silver glass plate negative captured on October 19, 1918: a premier World War I aviation and home-front documentary photograph: a United States military biplane / \"battleplane\" touching down in an audacious publicity landing on Soldiers Field outside Harvard Stadium during the climactic final day of the 4th Liberty Loan bond drive, surrounded by hundreds of US Navy sailors, soldiers, and spectators.
Accompanied by its original vintage tan kraft darkroom filing sleeve and matching period handwritten archive slip:
The Outer Envelope Inscription:
\"US Battleplane at / Harvard Stadium\"
With a period pencil notation at bottom: \"Insane Plane stunt!\"
The Inner Paper Sleeve Inscription:
Historical & Photographic Analysis:
On October 19, 1918—just three weeks before the Armistice ended World War I—cities across the nation staged spectacular public rallies to push the Fourth Liberty Loan drive past its multi-billion-dollar goal. In Boston and Cambridge, military aviators performed daring low-altitude exhibition flights over the Charles River, culminating in this famous stunt landing by a US Army biplane directly onto the athletic turf of Soldiers Field adjacent to the Harvard baseball diamond.
Captured from an elevated vantage point along the stadium colonnade by Boston Herald-Traveler staff photojournalist Leslie Jones:
The WWI Battleplane: The military biplane (Curtiss JN-4 Jenny / training scout type) rests on its dual landing gear and tail skid. The fabric wings proudly display early US Air Service tricolor cockade roundels, fuselage stripe markings, wire rigging turnbuckles, and the exposed open cockpit.
The Massive Encirclement: Hundreds of onlookers form a dense ring around the landed aircraft. In the crowd are dozens of US Navy sailors in white \"crackerjack\" uniforms and flat caps, soldiers in doughboy campaign service caps, Harvard students, women in Edwardian overcoats, and boys with bicycles parked on the turf.
Soldiers Field & Diamond: The expansive athletic grounds stretch into the background, showing the outfield grass, the dirt basepaths and backstop screen of the baseball diamond, and distant wooden outbuildings along the Charles River basin.
Specifications:
Format: Heavy antique silver gelatin 4x5 glass plate negative, exposed directly in a press camera on October 19, 1918.
Archive Ephemera Included: Accompanied by the original vintage tan kraft darkroom morgue filing sleeve and matching period handwritten paper sleeve.
Please Note: This listing is for the original antique glass plate negative, its period paper archive sleeve, and the inner protective paper insert only. Any positive photographic images shown in this listing are modern inverted digital scans provided solely as a visual representation to show what finished photographs print like. No physical paper photograph, modern print, or paper product of any kind is included with this purchase.
Condition:
Very Good to Excellent antique condition. Heavy glass plate is structurally sound with no cracks, breaks, or fractures. The silver gelatin emulsion is remarkably clean, sharp, and stable throughout, capturing pinpoint clarity across the biplane wing struts, roundels, individual faces in the crowd, and bicycles. Displays only minor authentic edge silvering and faint handling wear strictly along the extreme outer borders outside the primary image area. Accompanied by the original period kraft morgue filing sleeve and handwritten insert.
The glass plate negative measures 4 x 5In.
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Ships with extreme care in archival materials to ensure safe transit. Feel free to reach out with any requests or questions).
Combined shipping is available (with other glass negatives)
