National Air and Space Museum Archives

Charles M. Manly Papers

Summary

Collection ID:
NASM.1999.0004
Creators:
Manly, Charles Matthews, 1876-1927
Dates:
1895-1925
bulk 1903-1915
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.9 Cubic feet
2 legal document boxes
Repository:
This collection consists of material relating to Manly's aeronautical career, specifically his work with Samuel Langley's Aerodrome. The material consists of programs, publications, newspaper clippings, work notebooks, waste books, (mostly letterpress) and correspondence between Manly and the aviation and Smithsonian communities, circa 1885-1925. Correspondents include the following personalities: Glenn Curtiss, Carl Myers, Charles Walcott, Frank Lahm, Cyrus Adler, Augustus Post, and Samuel Langley.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection consists of material relating to Manly's aeronautical career, specifically his work with Samuel Langley's Aerodrome. The material consists of programs, publications, newspaper clippings, work notebooks, waste books, (mostly letterpress) and correspondence between Manly and the aviation and Smithsonian communities, circa 1885-1925. Correspondents include Samuel Langley, Charles Walcott and Richard Rathbun of the Smithsonian; Cyrus Adler, Glenn Curtiss, Benjamin D. Foulois, Carl Myers, Frank Lahm, and Augustus Post. Of particular interest is the correspondence between Manly and Smithsonian Secretary Charles Walcott on Manly's work on the preparation of the Langley Memoir on Mechanical Flight for publication between 1908 to 1911; and his correspondence with Glenn Curtiss concerning the test flights of the rebuilt Great Aerodrome on Lake Keuka, Hammondsport, New York, in 1914, and the resulting controversy between the Smithsonian and Orville Wright.
Researchers may also wish to consult the National Air and Space Archives Division's Samuel P. Langley Collection (Accession No. XXXX-0494), and these collections held by the Smithsonian Institution Archives:
Record Unit 31, Office of the Secretary, Correspondence, 1866-1906, with related records to 1927.
Record Unit 34, Office of the Secretary, Correspondence, 1887-1907
Record Unit 7268, J. Elfreth Watkins Collection, 1869, 1881-1903, 1953, 1966 and undated.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The Charles M. Manly Papers are organized in three series:
Series I --Letter Copy Books and Notebooks
Letter copy books were used to make and preserve copies of letters and memoranda --one placed a sheet of oiled paper under a page of the copy book, dampened the tissue copy page, then laid the original letter in the book under pressure for a few seconds. The quality of the copies ranges from quite readable to very faint. Because of the fragility of the paper, Archives Division staff should be consulted before working with the material.
The two notebooks in the series (Folder 4) were carried by Manly in his day to day work on the Aerodrome project and contain his notes on the progress of the work.
Series II --Correspondence
Letters in this series are arranged by year.
Series III --Additional Material
Newspaper clippings, Manly Family records, a photograph of Langley's Aerodrome No.5 in flight, and miscellaneous material.

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
On May 9, 1898, Smithsonian Secretary Samuel P. Langley wrote to Professor Robert Thurston of Cornell University, looking for a "young man who is morally trustworthy ('a good fellow') with some gumption and a professional training" to serve as Langley's assistant in his aeronautical work. Thurston recommended a senior majoring in electrical and mechanical engineering, Charles Matthews Manly (1876-1927) of Staunton, Virginia. Langley hired Manly and placed him in charge of the construction of his Great Aerodrome, the large manned aircraft being built under the sponsorship of the Army's Board of Ordnance and Fortification. One of Manly's main contributions to the project was his vastly improved redesign of Stephen M. Balzer's five-cylinder water-cooled radial gasoline engine. Manly piloted the Great Aerodrome on its two unsuccessful launch attempts in 1903. He resigned from the Smithsonian in 1905. Manly served as a consulting aviation engineer for different government agencies and corporations, including the British War Office, 1915; the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Corporation 1915-1919 (from 1919-1920 as the assistant general manger); and as a member of the US Commission to the International Aircraft Conference, London, 1918. Manly also completed and edited Langley's Memoir on Mechanical Flight which was published by the Smithsonian in 1911. Manly was granted over fifty 50 patents relating to automotive transportation, power generation, and transmission. In 1929, Manly was posthumously awarded the Langley Medal for outstanding aeronautical achievements.

Administration

Author
Allan Janus
Processing Information
Arranged and described by Allan Janus, 2008.
Encoded by Amanda Buel, 2014.
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
Brian Bailey, gift, 1998, 1999-0004, deed pending.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Conditions Governing Access note
No restrictions on access.
Preferred Citation
Charles M. Manly Papers, Acc. 1999-0004, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsoinan Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Publications Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aeronautics -- 1903-1916 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Programs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Airplanes -- Motors Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Test pilots Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aeronautics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Langley Aerodrome Family Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Clippings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Notebooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Curtiss, Glenn Hammond, 1878-1930 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Adler, Cyrus, 1863-1940 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Manly, Charles Matthews, 1876-1927 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lahm, Frank Purdy, 1877-1963 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Langley, S. P. (Samuel Pierpont), 1834-1906 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Walcott, Charles D. (Charles Doolittle), 1850-1927 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smithsonian Institution Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Post, Augustus Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Myers, Carl, 1842-1925 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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