[WANAMAKER (John)].
Conquerors of the North Pole.
BYRD'S PLANE ON DISPLAY
A brochure produced by the Wanamaker department store in Philadelphia to advertise the exhibition of Commander Richard E. Byrd’s Fokker F. VII tri-engined monoplane, in the wake of his flight to the North Pole on May 9th 1926. Byrd and co-pilot Floyd Bennett claim to have completed the nearly 16 hour flight from Spitzbergen to plant an American flag at the pole, thereby going down in history as the first aircraft to achieve this journey. Upon their return to the United States they were lauded as heroes, and their plane, named Josephine Ford after the daughter of their chief sponsor and president of the Ford Motor Company, was toured around the nation. The present brochure represents one such exhibition, at the Wanamaker Department Store in Philadelphia. As further evidence has come to light, including Byrd’s own diary, the claims of this expedition have been called into question.
John Wanamaker (1838-1922) founded the store in 1875, and his theatrical approach to retail experience has branded him a pioneer in marketing. It’s interesting to note that in spite of the fact the John Wanamaker died four years prior to this publication and his son Rodman had taken over the business, it is still copyrighted in his name.
The present brochure is rare, with one copy only traced through OCLC, at the BL.
