flyer

"Expert Authorities Claim that it takes one ton of lead to kill a man in actual warfare. Why not perfect yourself to do the same with one oz.?" Why indeed ?

zippo22 A fairly extravagant claim...

Before anything else: "Shooting range" @ 74 Thomas street: [GMaps] [OSI] Print works @ 13 Stafford Street [GMaps] [OSI]

guliolopez Thank you for those beautifully presented geo links. Now that's sorted, when was this? I checked in the 1903 and 1908 Thoms Dublin Directories (11th December fell on a Friday) but at no. 74 Thomas Street is John Byrne, grocer, tea, wine, and spirit merchant. Tried a few random years - 1912: ITGWU and 1915: Vacant...

National Library of Ireland on The Commons Indeed. I find this one a bit intriguing. I had found the same census returns as yourself, and it's clear that 74 Thomas Street was a public house (probably with grocery component) at the 1901 and 1911 census. There's nothing to indicate that it was in use for an extended period as a shooting range. (Although those properties all have/had reasonably long yards and rooms, so one of the back rooms might have been used as a range for a period.) Confirming a date would be made easier if we could link "The Fox and Co." to the property. However, I can't seem to find the company at all - not to mention any connection to Thomas Street. The only Fox connection (of any sort) to 74 Thomas Street would seem to be James Fox - a 16 year-old Na Fianna volunteer who died during the Rising at Stephen's Green. In some sources his address is given as 74 Thomas Street. Perhaps a family connection. Perhaps a coincidence. I went and (re)watched one of Eamonn mac Thomais' marvelous pieces on the history of the Liberties to see if he might mention something - but no such luck. (Although - to be honest - I was glad of the excuse to revisit these videos. I will find an excuse again soon...)

If truly the "Gold Bug" (a.k.a. the "Golden Flyer" due to the golden tint on the a/c's fabric covering), this would be the first major Curtiss aerodrome design ca. 1909. Designed in conjunction with the Alexander G. Bell's Aircraft Experiment Association (AEA) using a novel mid-wing-mounted aileron design vice the Wright's wing warping strategy, the ship was purchased by the Aeronautical Society of New York for $5,000. (Other Gold Bug pictures show the aerodrome with an extensive front bi-plane canard in use, but this could have been removed as with the later "Headless Pusher" designs.) The Wrights wound up suing Curtiss for patent infringement anyway, thereby ceding design advancement and use of the airplane in war to the Europeans as precious time and resources were used to battle away in court until well into the Great War.

From the National Postal Museum: "Max Miller was born in Norway. As a child, Max was interested in aeronautics, making kites, model airplanes, and gliders. He was in the army in the Philippines, where he probably trained to be an aviator. Miller was the first pilot hired by Benjamin Lipsner for the Postal Service-operated Air Mail Service. Max was married to Daisy Thomas, who worked in Lipsner and Otto Praeger's office. "On September 1, 1920, Miller left Hazelhurst air field for Cleveland at 5:30 am in a Junkers-Larsen aircraft with mechanic Gustav Reierson and 600 pounds of mail. Two hours later, the airplane was seen inexplicably only 20 miles away. It was flying low and the motor was cutting out and backfiring. Flames could be seen from the front of the airplane, and Reierson was tossing out mailbags. The flames engulfed the front of the airplane, and the aircraft nosed over and dove into the ground. The gas tanks exploded, blowing the wings off. Both men were killed in the explosion." (more)

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Goggles, and we'd love to have this added to the group!