Wright Orville

Orville Wright Signed Check to Leading Nerve Specialist, PSA/DNA Graded & Slabbed!

Check signed by pioneering aviator Orville Wright (1871-1948) as "Orville Wright" on the payee line. Made out to and endorsed by Herman H. Hoppe (1867-1929), one of the nation's leading specialists of nervous disorders and mental illnesses. Graded by PSA/DNA as Mint 9!

The unnumbered check in the amount of $10.00 was drawn from The Winters National Bank of Dayton, Ohio on August 1, 1917 and was issued to "Herman H. Hoppe". The patterned cream and gray check has punched-out cancellation marks, and is stamped in blue, purple, and red. With perforated top, bottom, and left edges. A few wrinkles, else very good to near fine. The check measures 8.375" x 3" while the slab measures 12.375" x 5.5".

Orville Wright, along with older brother Wilbur (1867-1912), are generally credited with flying the first manned and engine-powered airplane near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903. The brothers revolutionized aviation engineering with the development of new flexible wing technology.

The Wright Brothers conducted their first flight studies with gliders and then graduated to biplanes. They began their Kitty Hawk trials in 1900, and after three years of conducting on-site and wind tunnel experiments, they took to the air in sustained flight in mid-December. The brothers continued their trials well into the 1910s, eventually incorporating their own company and flying school. Both brothers gradually transitioned from aviation to company management. Surviving brother Orville sold the company in 1915 and dedicated the rest of his lifetime to serving on various aeronautic boards.

Herman H. Hoppe graduated from the Medical College of Ohio in 1889 and studied in Strasbourg and Berlin in the early 1890s. He opened a practice in Cincinnati, Ohio, approximately 50 miles south of Dayton, in 1892. In the nineteenth century, the term "nervous disorder" encompassed everything from neurology to mental illness and insanity. (Neurasthenia, a fairly common medical diagnosis in the nineteenth century that is no longer used today, illustrates the vagueness of this area of medical study.) It is unknown whether Orville personally received treatment from Dr. Hoppe or for what purpose. Orville's brother Wilbur, who died in 1912, suffered from depression.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.