Aviation pioneer and co-inventor of the powered airplane, Orville Wright (1871–1948). Bank check signed “Orville Wright” in black ink, No. 1596, drawn on The City National Bank, Dayton, Ohio, dated October 6, 1924, payable to the Postal Telegraph-Cable Company in the amount of $1.96. The amount is confirmed in the printed red stamp “PAY $1 AND 96 CTS.” The check bears a perforated “PAID” cancellation through the center. Signature bold, dark, and fully legible; light soiling and handling consistent with age. Very Good condition.
By 1924, Orville Wright was one of the most celebrated men in America, living quietly at his Dayton home and laboratory more than two decades after the historic December 17, 1903 flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the twelve-second, 120-foot journey that changed the world. His brother Wilbur had died in 1912, and Orville, ever private and publicity-averse, had largely withdrawn from the aviation industry he had created, devoting himself to research and the occasional scientific advisory role. The payee,the Postal Telegraph-Cable Company, was the era’s leading competitor to Western Union, suggesting a routine domestic communication charge, and placing the check squarely in the fabric of daily life at Dayton’s most famous address. The City National Bank of Dayton was the Wright family’s longstanding local institution.
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