Device Enabling Airplanes to Pick Up Mail Bags from the Ground, 1928

01

Artifact Overview

Air mail service was intended to speed up mail transport and delivery. But landing an airplane to collect bags of mail slowed things down. Air mail operators experimented with a variety of unusual devices that would allow an airplane to pick up mail without stopping.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Photographic print

Date Made

1928

Subject Date

1928

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

84.1.1629.202

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Gelatin silver process

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)

Dimensions

Height: 6 in
Width: 8.25 in

Inscriptions

attached press release: CREDIT-- HERBERT PHOTOS INC. / H37896--S / AIR MAIL PICK UP / A curious device has been perfected that enables mail planes to pick up mail bags from the ground [...] / (AJ-BB-BH)
Device Enabling Airplanes to Pick Up Mail Bags from the Ground, 1928