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1939 Dixie Clipper NC18605 ORIGINAL ACME Press Photo First Atlantic Flight 8x7
Original ACME Wire Photo with Full Caption, June 1939
DESCRIPTIONYou're looking at an original 1939 ACME Newspictures wire photograph of the Dixie Clipper, the Pan American Boeing 314 flying boat that launched the first regular scheduled passenger service between the United States and Europe.The photo captures the Clipper mid-takeoff from Port Washington, New York on June 28, 1939, throwing a full spray wake as it lifts off the water with 22 passengers and a crew of 11 aboard, a flight that carried a waiting list of 500 hopeful travelers. Registration NC18605 is clearly legible on the wing.The original wire caption slip is pasted to the back of the photo, credited to ACME Newspictures, stamped by N.E.A., and confirming the date and details of the flight. This is a genuine period press photo, not a modern reprint, complete with the archival stamps and pencil notations that document its life moving through a newspaper photo desk in 1939.This aircraft went on to make history again in January 1943, carrying Franklin D. Roosevelt to and from the Casablanca Conference, the flight that made FDR the first sitting U.S. president to fly while in office and the first to cross an ocean by air.A strong piece for a Pan American Clipper collection, Golden Age commercial aviation display, or anyone building out early transatlantic travel history.Photo measures approximately 9 x 6.5 inches.CONDITIONGood to very good vintage condition for an 87-year-old wire service photo. The image is clean and sharp with strong contrast. Scattered light surface speckling and one faint hairline mark are visible in the sky area only, consistent with age, and do not touch the aircraft or its wake. Corners show light handling wear typical of a photo that moved through a newsroom. The top edge is the photo's original manufactured deckle edge, not damage, and the overall trim sits at a slight angle, which is normal for wire photos of this era. The original caption slip is pasted to the back as issued, fully legible, with light natural toning. No tears through the photograph itself and no writing on the image front.
