Charles A Knotek (American, 1933 - 2008) "First Airship Flight Around the World" Original Mixed Media painting on Illustration Board. Signed lower middle.

Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation.

This painting is the original painting which was published on the Fleetwood Commemorative Cover for the Man's Conquest of the Heavens series issued in 1983.

After World War I the first dirigible airship Germany was allowed to build for her own use was the Graf Zeppelin. Her commander, Dr. Hugo Eckener, set out at once to prove her superior worth as well as the feasibility and comfort of long-distance travel in the huge airships. His chosen method of proof: a trip around the world. At that time, the feat had been accomplished only once, by two American Army airplanes making 72 stops over a 6 month period. To finance his voyage, Eckener gleaned the profits from the sale of thousands of commemorative postage stamps; charged passengers a fee of $2500 each; and got the backing of publishers. One of them, William Randolph Hearst, contributed one hundred thousand dollars, with the stipulation that the flight begin and end on American soil. Thus, the Graf Zeppeling began its amazing journey from Lakehurst, New Jersey. Traveling at an average speed of 70 mph, 20 passengers and 41 crewmen dined on gourmet foods and fine wines as they drifted above the barren wilderness of such places as Russia and Siberia, passing over many lands never seen by people from the air before. In a total of twelve days in the air, the Zeppelin covered 20,500 miles, landing once again in Lakehurst on August 29th. A fabulous tickertape parade up Broadway in New York greeted the passengers and crew, and praise came from many sources including the new American President, Herbert Hoover. Dr. Eckener had made his point and the age of the great airships began anew.

Image Size: 12.75 x 16.25 in.
Overall Size: 15 x 20 in.
Unframed.
(B08802)

- By registering to bid for this auction either in-house or online and/or placing a bid in this auction the BIDDER/BUYER agrees to all the terms and conditions of Helmuth Stone Gallery Auctions.

- Due to the size of our gallery not all items are out for preview at one time. If you plan on coming to preview any lot(s) we recommend letting us know prior so we can have them collected and prepared for your preview.

- All silver, gold and/or jewelry lots or invoices containing said lots MUST be paid for via WIRE TRANSFER, no other forms of payment will be accepted.

- All items are sold as-is where-is and no guarantees are made of any kind. All sales are final; no refunds will be given under any circumstances.

- All artwork is listed and sold per section (10) of our terms and conditions, please read over all definitions of authorship prior to bidding to better understand artwork listings.

- Helmuth Stone Gallery provides condition reports as a courtesy to our clients and assumes no liability for any error or omission. Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client and is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Descriptions are our opinions and should in no way be construed as a guarantee of any kind as to age, condition, mater. The bidder assumes responsibility for ensuring that the condition of the item(s) meets with their satisfaction prior to bidding. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections, or the effects of aging.

- Online images can sometimes be low quality due to the uploading process, original high-resolution images can be requested via email at HelmuthStone@gmail.com

- We recommend looking into shipping quotes prior to bidding, shipping quotes can take up to a week or more post-sale as we host our auctions through multiple online platforms and shipping can become backlogged, if you would like a list of local shippers please email us directly.

- Our auction catalogs are hosted through multiple online platforms along with phone and in-house bidding. Bids placed on other platforms are not shown through this catalog. Because of this, even if it appears you are the only absentee bid or bidder on a lot, you may already be outbid or may have placed a bid equal to another bidder. Therefore, we always recommend bidding live.

- Unless otherwise stated in the description, all items are sold without additional documentation or COAs. If any supporting documentation is available an image will be available online via the catalog listing.