Portrait of Orville Wright as a Boy, 1878

THF117223 / Portrait of Orville Wright as a Boy, 1878
01

Artifact Overview

Orville Wright was born on August 19, 1871, in the family house in Dayton, Ohio. In 1878 his father, a bishop who traveled frequently on church business, brought home a toy helicopter for Orville and his brother Wilbur. The Wright brothers later credited the toy with sparking their earliest interest in aviation.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Carte-de-visite (Card photograph)

Subject Date

1878

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

62.167.3

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Cardboard
Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Albumen process
Mounting

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)
Brown

Dimensions

Height: 4.125 in
Width: 2.438 in

Inscriptions

S. T. Wiggins, Photographer, No. 15 South Commercial Street, Ground Floor Gallery, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
02

Related Content

  • Wright Home--Original Site--Exterior--Item2
    Set

    Growing Up Wright

    • 25 Artifacts
    Before moving the Wright Home from Dayton, Ohio, to Greenfield Village in November 1936, Henry Ford's agents found and took detailed photographs of the building's exterior. These photos helped the team reassemble the structure in Dearborn, Michigan. Orville Wright also assisted to ensure the reconstruction's accuracy.