The Wright brothers began accusing competitors of stealing their design, which caused them to start suing for patent infringement at home and abroad.
The most famous case was against Glenn Curtiss in 1909 that had a legal battle that lasted beyond Wilbur’s life.
This letter was penned just five months before his own death.
The letter was sent to Mr. W. de Hevesy in Paris and is dated Jan. 25, 1912.
This auction also includes the envelope that he addressed in his own hand.
“Wilbur Wright letters of this length with such outstanding aviation content are extremely scarce and very rarely surface,” said Robert Livingston, executive vice president at RR Auction.
In part, here is what the letter had said:
“During the past three months most of my time has been taken up with law suits and I have been away from home most of the time. I am hoping to be freed from this kind of work before another year has ended. It is much more pleasant to go to Kitty Hawk for experiments than to worry over law-suits. We had hoped in 1906 to sell our invention to governments for enough money to satisfy our needs and then devote our time to science, but the jealousy of certain persons blocked this plan, and compelled us to rely on our patents and commercial exploitation. We wished to be free from business cares so that we could give all our own time to advancing the science and art of aviation, but we have been compelled to spend our time on business matters instead, during the past five years. When we think what we might have accomplished if we had been able to devote this time to experiments, we feel very sad, but it is always easier to deal with things than with men, and no one can direct his life entirely as he would choose. Yet these years have not been without their pleasant spots. And we look back with much enjoyment to the friendships made during this period. If you should come to America do not forget Dayton.”
This auction isn’t the only thing bringing attention to the famous brothers.
David McCullough on Tuesday just conducted a master class for Wright State University history students which you can read more about here.
Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning historian McCullough’s latest book “The Wright Brothers” is a New York Times best seller.
McCullough is collaborating with Tom Hanks on an HBO miniseries based on the book.
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