1931 Margaret Bourke-White USS Airship Akron Photo
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GUEST:
This is a,a family picture that we've had for two generations now. And it was given to my dad's dad at the christening of the Akron airship in August of 1931 at the air dock here in Akron. My grandfather was an en, an executive at Goodyear. That's why he was given this, to commemorate that.
APPRAISER:
So this is a photograph by Margaret Bourke-White. Margaret Bourke-White was a pioneer in industrial photography. She was born in New York, went to Cornell, and then moved to Cleveland to be closer to her mother.
GUEST:
Mm.
APPRAISER:
And it was in Cleveland that she opened her first studio and it inspired her to be an industrial photographer. This Margaret Bourke-White's iconic photograph of the U.S.S. Akron in its original presentation frame. It's made of duralumin, which was the same lightweight aluminum alloy that was used to build the airship that was built by the Goodyear Zeppelin Company for the U.S. Navy. It was lightweight and strong and perfect for the armature of the zeppelin.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
And these works were given as gifts to employees of the zeppelin company. One of the many strengths of Margaret Bourke-White was to take these large industrial objects and humanize them to create fine art. And this is a perfect example of that. We don't know how many are out there and we don't know how many they gifted. Having said that, we do see them from time to time. But what's really difficult is to find prints in excellent condition. Yours has a few minor condition issues. Most notably, in the front lower region, you'll see some type of—almost looks like a repaired tear, but overall, it's in very good condition. I would price this for auction at $4,000 to $6,000.
GUEST:
(sighing) Oh, wow. (inhales) (chuckling) That's wonderful, that's remarkable. Thank you.
APPRAISER:
Other examples of this print that are in excellent condition have sold up to $15,000.
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