RUTH ELDER - TYPED STATEMENT SIGNED - HFSID 32334

HISTORIC MESSAGE PLANNED TO BE SENT FROM PARIS BY AVIATRIX RUTH ELDER AFTER THE 1927 FLIGHT WHICH WOULD HAVE MADE HER THE FIRST WOMAN TO FLY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC

RUTH ELDER.Final Draft of an Historic Typed Statement signed in upper left: "Ruth Elder", 1p, 8½x11. No date, but 1927. Headed: "A Message of Thanks to the Manufacturers/and Couturiers of Europe and of America." In part: "This message from Arnold Constable & Company, New York department store now celebrating its 100th anniversary, was carried by Miss Ruth Elder, first woman to fly across the Atlantic, and sent through her by this newspaper for publication immediately upon landing. It is, of course, the first advertisement ever distributed overseas by airplane. Arnold, Constable & Company, of New York, extends publicly through this advertisement, published simultaneously in London, Paris, Berlin and New York, its heartfelt thanks to the manufacturers and couturiers of Europe and America who have so splendidly cooperated in making our Centennial celebration a success…." Unfortunately, aviatrix Ruth Elder was the first woman to attempt a flight from the United States to Europe, not the first woman to make it. In October 1927, Elder and Captain George Haldeman (pilot) took off from Roosevelt Field for Paris. Weather forced them to land on the ocean after a flight of 2,623 miles. Ruth Elder spent nine hours at the controls. They were rescued by a Dutch oil tanker. As their plane was being hoisted on deck, it caught fire and was totally destroyed. As Elder's plane burned, all the airmail carried aboard was also lost, including all the messages sent to Europe. Because there are penciled corrections on this statement, this seems to be the final draft of the messages that were actually carried by Elder on her ill-fated flight. No doubt she signed this after her return to New York as a souvenir for someone at Arnold, Constable & Co. A unique early aviation souvenir. Fragile. Typed on onion skin paper. Nicked at edges. Creased and toned. Encapsulated.