Secrets of Flight.

Glenview, Illinois:: Karen Hanmer,, 2004.. Edition of 30. 7 x 26 x 5" open; 7 x 5 x .75" closed. Archival inkjet prints. A flag book structure. The photographs come from the Library of congress' digitized collection of Orville and Wilbur's own plate glass negatives. The inside cover image is the telegram the Wrights sent to their father informing him of the first manned, powered flight on December 17, 1903. The photograph on the rear of the spine documents that historic flight. The outside covers come together to show a closeup view of the 1903 Wright Flyer. The text on the right hand pages of the book is excerpted from a letter by Wilbur to engineer and flight scholar and experimenter Octave Chanute, outlining the brothers' plans for solving the problem of flight. The text on the left hand pages is brief passages from the Wrights' letters, diary entries, and reminiscences. The focus here is on the passages that define their approach toward their experimentation: cautious, patient, methodical, confident. Photographs and archival documents pertaining to the Wright Brothers' first manned, powered flight produced in a flag book structure. The delightful flapping sound the viewer hears when opening the book is appropriate for a book documenting flight.