Ralph Schugar's Aerial Hearse, a Ford Tri-Motor 4-AT-52 Airplane, Curtiss-Bettis Airport, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1931
THF717393 / Ralph Schugar's Aerial Hearse, a Ford Tri-Motor 4-AT-52 Airplane, Curtiss-Bettis Airport, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1931
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Artifact Overview
Operators adapted Ford Tri-Motor airplanes for every imaginable use. Pittsburgh mortician Ralph Schugar earned a pilot's license and turned his Tri-Motor into an aerial hearse. The death of a loved one is never easy, particularly when it occurs far from home. Schugar's unusual service reduced wait time and worry for the survivors, at a cost comparable to railroad transport.
Artifact Details
Artifact
Photographic print
Date Made
09 June 1931
Subject Date
09 June 1931
Creators
Place of Creation
Collection Title
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Object ID
64.167.18.27
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.
Material
Paper (Fiber product)
Technique
Gelatin silver process
Color
Black-and-white (Colors)
Dimensions
Height: 4.75 in
Width: 7.125 in
Inscriptions
Ink stamp on back of image:
Harry V. Campbell, / 573 Texas Ave. Annex / Duquesne, Pa.
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