1912 Press Photo Silas Christofferson Hydroplane Willamette River Portland Oaks 4.75x3.25
Documented Aug 1912 Oaks flight, period press printOverview
Subject: Silas C. Christofferson, aviatorAircraft: Curtiss-type pusher biplane hydroplane (twin floats)Event: Oaks Park / Willamette River flights, Portland, OregonDate: August 1912 (published Aug 25, 1912, Sunday Oregonian)Type: Original period press photographRegion of Origin: United States (Pacific Northwest)Provenance: Period press print; documented match to published 1912 Oregonian image; clippings packet includedOriginal period press photograph of pioneer aviator Silas C. Christofferson in his pusher biplane hydroplane, taxiing on the Willamette River at the Oaks (Oaks Amusement Park) in Portland, Oregon, in August 1912. The aircraft is a classic Curtiss-type pusher on twin floats, tail surfaces carried aft on outrigger booms, with the pilot at the open center cockpit and a low treed shoreline behindConfirmed subject, event, and date.
This image was published in The Sunday Oregonian on August 25, 1912(page 32) under the heading announcing two snapshots secured of Silas C. Christofferson in his hydroplane at the Oaks the day before, the lower image captioned as him skirting along the waters of the Willamette River.The published frame matches this print feature for feature, including the small vessel at the right edge of the scene, which dates the photograph to roughly August 24, 1912.The verso carries period newspaper photo-desk markings (layout notes), consistent with a surviving press print from that 1912 Portland coverage.A later collector's slip applied to the back reads "Silas Christofferson flying in a monoplane he built here in 1909." That note grafts his real early history onto this later image: in a July 1914 interview (Oregon Daily Journal) Christofferson described building a Bleriot-type monoplane and his own engine in Portland around 1908 to 1909. The aircraft in THIS photo is his 1912 biplane hydroplane, not that early monoplane, and the photo is firmly documented to August 1912.Silas G. Christofferson (1890 to 1916) was a celebrated early American aviator and Portland's pioneer airman. He is best known for flying a Curtiss pusher off the roof of Portland's Multnomah Hotel in 1912, for setting an American altitude record over Mount Whitney in 1914, for early hydroplane passenger flights between San Francisco and Oakland, and for building hydroplanes and flying boats on the West Coast, including two flying boats for polar explorer Roald Amundsen. He died testing a new biplane in 1916.A confirmed, dated, event-documented image of a named Early Bird pioneer, with period press provenance. Small-format original print, approximately ~4.75x3.25 (not a postcard/RPPC). Copies of the documenting newspaper clippings are included with the sale.Sold as shown. See photos of both sides as part of the description
ConditionVintage original print, good displayable condition for its age. Sepia/warm tone. Surface shows a few light emulsion spots and a faint tonal stain in the upper-left sky area. Light edge and corner wear, with a few minor crease marks and some emulsion flaking/chips along the bottom-left edge. Verso shows period pencil press markings, an applied paper caption slip, old tape and tape residue, small pin holes/dimples at upper right, and light staining at the left edge. No major creases through the main image. Please review all photos, which form part of the condition report
THE MATCH:- The Sunday Oregonian, Aug 25, 1912, p.32: "Two snapshots secured of Silas C. Christofferson in his hydroplane at the Oaks yesterday." Lower image ("skirting along waters of Willamette River") = this print. THE confirming document.SUPPORTING:- Oregonian, Aug 22, 1912, p.16: Christofferson hydroplane "rising from Willamette," advance notice of the Oaks Park engagement.- Oregon Daily Journal, Jul 30, 1914, p.11: interview; he states he built a Bleriot-type monoplane and engine in Portland around 1908-1909. Explains the back-slip caption.- Sunday Oregonian, Nov 30, 1930, p.27: retrospective, the Portland hydroplane biplane "18 years ago."- Oregonian, Feb 11, 1959, p.124: Christofferson cranking his seaplane on the Willamette.- Redmond Spokesman, Sep 24, 2014, p.8: modern Offbeat Oregon retrospective, background.
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