curtissn9

James Howell Cummings, Jr. (May 1, 1895 - December 4, 1941), Naval Aviator No. 377. See: ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/1813/27365/1/044_13.pdf Cornell Alumni News, Vol. XLIV, No. 13, December 18, 1941, Page 14

WA-'18 JAMES HOWELL CUMMINGS, JR., December 4, 1941, in Philadelphia, Pa., after a long illness. He entered Arts in 1914 from Penn Charter School, Philadelphia, Pa.; left in April 1917, to enlist in the Navy and served until May 1919, at Bayshore and Miami, Fla., as a lieutenant in Aviation. He joined the John B. Stetson Co., hat manufacturers, in 1919; became assistant secretary in charge of fur purchases in 1924, secretary in 1935, and vice-president in 1938. He was a director of the John B. Stetson Co., Ltd., of Canada and of the Stetson Hospital, Philadelphia. Delta Kappa Epsilon, Mummy Club.

DELTA KAPPA EPSILON FRATERNITY - The Delta Kappa Epsilon Quarterly / The Deke Quarterly DKEQ, LX, #2 (May 1942), p. 48

James Howell Cummings, Jr., Delta Chi ‘18 We learned with deep regret of the death of James Howell Cummings, Jr., ‘18, which occurred December 4, 1941, in Philadelphia. He was 46. Jim studied Arts and Sciences at Cornell, had his college career cut short by World War I in which he served as a lieutenant in the Naval Air Corps. He received a war degree in 1920. He was a hat manufacturer with John B. Stetson Co., Philadelphia, lived at Buttonwood Farm, Berwyn, Pa. He married Isabella Wanamaker in 1921, and leaves two children— James H., Jr., 16, Isabella, 19.

See also: www.findagrave.com/memorial/91500511/james-howell-cummings

Three Curtiss N-9 built by Burgess were all delivered in April/May 1918 and SOC in 1920, but some had been standing idle since late 1918 due to damage., and since they all look very pristine I would say the photo was taken at some point in 1918. Stig

Burgess-built Curtiss N-9H BuNo.2354.