Western Air Express, Sikorsky S-38 Aircraft, Circa 1930

Description

This is an exquisite, and very rare, example of an advertising photograph for early flying boat journeys to Catalina Island for the somewhat short-lived Western Air Express airline. The company had only one Sikorsky S-38 aircraft in operation, although they did have at least two or three different aircraft models in their fleet. The flights were several times a day, weather permitting, and flew between Wilmington, and Catalina Island. It only takes one look at this early aircraft to realize how adventurous the passengers must have been to sign on for a flight. The Sikorsky S-38 aircraft was also the first aircraft to be used at about the same time for inter-island flights in Hawaii, with much greater over-water distances involved.

The original print is a large format image of superb detail and clarity. The image I have reproduced here is with absolute sharpness and tone. This is an archival pigment print, and it is mounted in another of my hand-made ‘Andiroba’ mahogany 21″ x 24″ frames. Again, a museum mounted print with a double-thickness window mat. The actual size of the print is 11-1/2″ x1 4-1/2.”