Orville Wright Signed Check Collection—Mabel Beck, Lottie Jones and B. F. Goodrich, 1909–1930

An exceptional collection of four original canceled checks from the financial records of the Wright family, including three checks personally signed by aviation pioneer Orville Wright and an early Wright Brothers business check written by his elder brother, Lorin Wright. The earliest check, dated November 12, 1909, is payable to the B. F. Goodrich Company for $5.35 and signed “Wright Bros.” Comparative handwriting indicates that the check was written and signed by Lorin Wright, who frequently handled financial matters for his famous brothers. The association with Goodrich, one of America’s leading manufacturers of bicycle, automobile and industrial rubber products, gives the document additional technological and industrial interest. Two checks date from December 1916. The first is payable to J. B. Gilbert for $140.45 and bears Orville Wright’s complete signature. The second is payable to Mabel Beck for $7.00, signed by Orville and endorsed by Beck on the reverse. Beck served for decades as Orville’s secretary, assistant and trusted custodian of the Wright papers. The final check, dated December 16, 1930, is payable to Charlotte “Lottie” Jones for $6.25. Completed in another hand, it bears Orville Wright’s full signature and Jones’s endorsement on the reverse. Jones was a longtime Wright family associate who worked as their laundress and later occupied the Wright family home on Hawthorn Street. The checks display customary folds, bank stamps, endorsements, cancellation perforations and handling wear. Cancellation marks affect portions of the writing on several checks, but the three Orville Wright signatures remain recognizable. A compelling group connecting Orville Wright with two women closely associated with the Wright household, together with an early Wright Brothers commercial payment to B. F. Goodrich. Provenance: Miller sale