Casey Huegel, a 2013 graduate of the Masters in Public History program, has mounted a major exhibit for the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, entitled The Photography of Wilbur and Orville Wright, 1897-1900. It will be on display at the Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center at the Park until December 18, 2016. A related article, entitled "The Wright Brothers' Early Photography: A Research Note," will be published in the scholarly journal, Ohio History, in March 2016.
From 1897-1900, the Wright brothers taught themselves photography in their hometown of Dayton, Ohio, by capturing people, landscapes, and events throughout the Dayton area. In 1948, the Wrights' photographic negatives were donated to the Library of Congress as a part of the Wright brothers' papers.
"The Wright Brothers' Early Photography: A Research Note" contextualizes many of these images for the first time, and connects the brothers' interest in photography to their essential curiosity, and their careers in printing and bicycles. This analysis is a key a key to understanding Wilbur and Orville as pioneering experimenters in aeronautics, because the brothers used photography as a critical tool in documenting the developmental process of the airplane.
For more information about seeing the exhibited, go to the Aviation Heritage Park website: http://www.nps.gov/daav/index.htm
