Douglas DC-5 Airliner Cabin Interior Vintage Photo 8x10, Signed Artist Rendering For Sale

Douglas DC-5 Airliner Cabin Interior
Vintage Photo 8x10, Artist Rendering
El Segundo Factory Print, LEICHTER, 12 BuiltDESCRIPTIONThis is an original period photograph of an artist\'s rendering of the passenger cabin of the Douglas DC-5, LEICHTER at the lower right of the image. The view looks aft down the center aisle past two pairs of upholstered seats with armrests toward the rear bulkhead and door, beneath a curved ceiling with overhead luggage racks and netting on both sides. The factory caption along the bottom of the image reads 4160 DOUGLAS EL S. DIV. DC-5, naming the Douglas El Segundo Division, the plant where every DC-5 was built. The print is undated, but its subject places it around the aircraft\'s 1939 debut. It measures approximately 8 x 10 inches and comes from a period Douglas and Northrop factory photograph album of unknown collector origin, carefully released from its album page. Images are scanned at 600dpi so you can review every detail before you buy.The DC-5 was Douglas\'s twin engine airliner for shorter routes, designed in 1938 to carry 16 to 22 passengers. It was among the first airliners to pair a shoulder mounted wing with tricycle landing gear, a layout still common on transport aircraft today, and it was the only Douglas airliner built at the El Segundo plant. The prototype first flew on February 20, 1939, but the timing could not have been worse. Airlines were cancelling orders and Douglas was shifting its factories toward war production, so only twelve DC-5s were built in total.The few that flew lived unusual lives. Four went to KLM, serving the Caribbean and the Netherlands East Indies. In early 1942, as Japan overran Java, three DC-5s of the Dutch East Indies airline KNILM carried people out to Australia. A fourth was damaged in a Japanese air raid at Batavia on February 9, 1942, then captured, repaired, taken to Japan for testing, and later used as a transport in Japanese Army markings. The prototype was sold to William Boeing, founder of the Boeing Company, as a personal aircraft named Rover, and was impressed into Navy service in 1942 as an R3D-3. The Marine Corps flew R3D-2 versions set up for 22 paratroopers. The last surviving DC-5 was smuggled to Israel in May 1948, wore hand-lettered Yankee Pasha markings, and was used as an improvised bomber in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.Every effort is made toward fact checking and provenance, including background research through news and historical archives. If any listing is incorrect in any way and you\'re unsatisfied with the item, please connect with me and I\'ll make it right. Orders placed before Noon CDT will ship same day Ground Advantage with tracking so you know exactly when it will arrive. Returns accepted on all items exceeding $25 in cost. Rigid, professional packaging on all shipments, sealed and protected in acid free protectors. Shipping is free and already built into the price, so the BIN price is exactly what you pay, no surprise shipping costs at checkout.CONDITIONThe image is clear and well defined, with a soft, painterly tonal range typical of a hand rendered subject. The surface shows fine hairline scratches, most visible across the dark seat cushions near the lower right signature, along with scattered tiny dust specks. Two tiny red to orange specks sit within the image area, one in the ceiling at upper right and one on the rear bulkhead beside the door. The white borders are clean, and the corners and edges appear intact with only light handling wear. No creases, tears, or fading are visible.The reverse has an even amber toned adhesive residue across the paper from its former album page, with patches of gray album paper fibers remaining along the edges, heaviest along the right edge and also present at the top, left, and lower left corner. A faint smudge mark sits near the center. There are no stamps, writing, or captions on the back. The residue is on the reverse only and does not affect the image side.

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