Author Topic: Commemorative Serviette: Charles Lindberg first solo crossing of the Atlantic  (Read 1206 times)

Offline lone modeller

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5300
Evening All,

I am not sure whether this is nostalgia, more aviation history, but it does relate to the old Frog Trailblazer Kit of Charles Lindberg's "Spirit of St Louis".

This is an image of a serviette that was printed to commemorate that historic flight in 1927:

[

The text reads:

When Captain Lindbergh steps out of his machine at Croydon today Sunday May 29th he will be welcomed by the American Ambassador, Mr. Houghton, Sir Samuel Hoare, the Air Minister, and a distinguished company of aviation and diplomatic representatives.
He will also be greeted by one of London's cheers
On Monday he will be a "private visitor" free to discover London for himself like any other American. Afterwards he will be the honoured guest of the nation.
His most memorable moments in London will be on Tuesday when he is to enter Buckingham Palace to describe his great adventure to the King.
Afterwards he will attend the private luncheon arranged by the Air Council and then at night before he goes to the Derby Eve Ball at the Albert Hall, he will be the guest of honour at the special banquet arranged by the Royal Aero Club and Royal Aeronautical Society, the Society of British Aircraft Constructors, and the Air League.
He will see the Derby with the American Ambassador and half a week of crowded life will be rounded off with a dinner given by the American Club, American Society and American Chamber of Commerce.
Printers S. Burgess, Yon Place, Strand, W. C. 2

The second line refers to the London Hotel in Croydon where my grandfather worked at the time as a chef: the serviette was given to me by him when I was very small as he knew that I was very interested in aeroplanes. I keep it in the dark so that the colours do not fade and to protect the fragile paper. How many other copies of this exist I do not know: I have never seen or heard of one.

Lindbergh won the $25000 Orteig Prize and world fame for his exploit: he had formerly been a pilot for the US postal service and was a relative unknown in the competition which had already claimed the lives of six people in the months prior to Linbergh's attempt. His aircraft was a purpose built Ryan NYP high wing monoplane (serial N-X-211) which he named Spirit of St Louis. This feat was all the more remarkable when it is remembered that Lindbergh was almost prone in his machine and that he had to navigate by the stars and dead reckoning through storms and cloud with no landmarks for most of the journey. He also had to stay awake and concentrate for 33.5 hours as he did not have an autopilot to help him.

This historic flight was remembered by Frog in one of their Trailblazer Series of kits issued in the early 1960's: today they will be a rare bird indeed. I do remember seeing one in my local model shop when I was younger than today, but I have not seen one since. Sadly it was obviously not a popular kit and I never thought to buy one to go with this serviette at the time. I wonder if anyone has this kit either still in the box or made up.

Stephen.
« Last Edit: June 28, 2020, 05:47:50 AM by lone modeller »

Offline lcarroll

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8547
Stephen,
    What an amazing piece of history, and probably as you infer any other survivors would be unlikely. It's hard to imagine it's been almost 100 years since his  crossing, and now it's an everyday casual experience for literally thousands of casual travelers. I never had the Kit of his aircraft but one to go with your keepsake would sure be a nice touch! Thanks for sharing this here.
Cheers,
Lance

Offline gbrivio

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1681
Nice piece of history, thank you for sharing.
Ciao
Giuseppe