Glenn Curtiss Postcard 1907 Fastest Man in World

Glenn Curtiss, who ultimately became an American aviation pioneer and founder of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, began his career as a Western Union bicycle messenger, then became a bicycle racer, followed by being a bicycle shop owner. Intrigued by internal combustion engines, in 1902 he began manufacturing motorcycles in a small shop in his hometown of Hammondsport NY, using his own design for a single cylinder engine. ( His first motorcycle actually utilized a tomato can for a carburetor.) In 1903 he set a motorcycle one mile land speed record at 64 miles per hour and the motorcycles his twelve man shop turned out regularly beat those of Indian and Harley Davidson. On January 24, 1907, Curtiss set a world record of 136.36 miles per hour on a 40 horsepower, V8 powered motorcycle of that he designed and built, winning him the title of "the fastest man in the world," as the newspapers called him and establishing his reputation as a leading maker of high-performance motorcycles. His 1907 motorcycle land speed record stood until 1911. Seventeen years after setting the 1907 speed record, Curtiss had become a multi-millionaire. He retired from the airplane business, moved to Florida and became a land developer. He went on to be instrumental in the establishment of Opa-Locka, Hialeah, and Miami Springs. In 1930, shortly before his untimely death at age 52, Glenn Hammond Curtiss was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree from the University of Miami for his extensive civic accomplishments - not bad for someone with an eighth grade education! This postcard depicts Curtiss and his 1907 land speed record motorcycle. In excellent condition for its age, with very minor faults which do not detract.