Very Rare 1909 Blackpool Flying Meeting China Wall Pocket (Chris Balm Vintage Aviation & Motoring Items)

Very Rare 1909 Blackpool Flying Meeting China Wall Pocket

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Very Rare 1909 Blackpool Flying Meeting China Wall Pocket

Very rare, miniature china wall pocket made as a souvenir of the famous 1909 Blackpool Aviation Meeting. This was Britain's first ever official flying meeting.

This small, shield shaped wall pocket is decorated with a printed and hand painted design depicting a Wright Flyer aeroplane flying over the Blackpool coastline (the well known landmarks of the Giant Ferris Wheel and the Blackpool Tower are visible). Above and below this are the Captions, "The First Aviation Week Held in Gt. Britain - Blackpool, Oct 18-24. 1909". Overall length : 63mm. Very good condition.

This aviation meeting was held at Blackpool (Lancashire, North-West England) between the 18th and 23rd October 1909. At the same time a rival event was being held at Doncaster. The Blackpool event however had the backing of the (Royal) Aero Club and the municipal authorities making it Great Britain's first official flying meeting. The aircraft (and pilots) participating in the event consisted of : 3x "Voisins" ( Rougier, Fournier, & Mortimer Singer), 1x "Farman" (Henry Farman & Louis Paulhan), 2x "Bleriots" (LeBlanc & Parkinson), 1x "Antoinette" (Latham), 1x "A.V.Roe Triplane" (A.V. Roe), 3x unspecified monoplanes (Saunderson, Creese & Neale), and 1x unspecified biplane (Fernandes). Two memorable events were Hubert Latham's flight in a high wind (the first time a pilot had successfully handled an aeroplane in these conditions) and Henry Farman's outstanding performance during the meeting which won him £2400.00 in prizes. Particularly impressive was his flight in which he covered over 47 miles in 1hr 30mins.

Inventory No. A-257

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