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Flying into modernity: model airplanes, consumer culture, and the making of modern boyhood in the early twentieth century

2009; Routledge; Volume: 25; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/07341510902861161

1477-2620

Aaron L. Alcorn,

American History and Culture

Abstract This essay examines the contested meanings of boyhood, modernity, and consumption in the early twentieth century hobby of building and flying model airplanes. This article reveals how competing visions of boyhood materialized in hobby practices and how hobby ideals advanced – and challenged – the emerging order of modernity. Keywords: boyhoodmodernityconsumer culturemodel airplaneshobbies Notes 1. Lewis W. Hine, 'Two Boys with Model Airplanes,' ca 1920–1940, [85:0094:0005], Still Photograph Archive, George Eastman House, Syracuse, NY. On Hine's work for the National Child Labor Committee, see Goldberg, Lewis W. Hine. 2. Ideal Aeroplane & Supply Co. [New York], 'How to Build an improved "Ideal" De Havilland (DE H‐4) Battle and Mail Plane,' instruction booklet, 1926, private collection of Chester Hubbard, Horsehead, NY (hereafter Hubbard Collection). Ideal, founded in 1911, was the leading producer of model airplane kits in the United States before the 1930s. For a more complete listing of firms, see Hertz, Complete Book of Model Aircraft, 197–230. 3. '"Ideal" Model Aeroplane Supplies,' product catalog, 1912, 22–3, Trade Catalog Collection, Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, DE (hereafter HTCC). 4. On scholarship related to technical hobbies, see Douglas, Inventing American Broadcasting, 187–215; Haring, Ham Radio's Technical Culture; Post, High Performance. 5. This 'ecology of practice' departs from Arthur F. McEvoy's description of 'working environments' and moves into the realm of tacit knowledge. See, McEvoy's 'Working Environments'; de Certeau, Practice of Everyday Life; Geertz, Local Knowledge; Wallace, Rockdale; Harper, Working Knowledge; Orr, Talking About Machines. 6. Zelizer, Pricing the Priceless Child; Mintz, Huck's Raf; Macleod, The Age of the Child and Building Character in the American Boy; Cavallo, Muscles and Morals. 7. Leach, Land of Desire, 85; Cross, Kid's Stuff, 6–67; Keene, '"Every Boy & Girl a Scientist".' 8. Pursell, 'Toys, Technology, and Sex Roles,' 252–67, and 'Long Summer of Boy Engineering,' 34–43. 9. Stout, Boy's Book of Mechanical Models, viii–ix (emphasis added). 10. Kneiff [Stout], 'High School Aeronautics,' 15–16. 11. For popular responses to the airplane's development, see Corn, Winged Gospel; Van Riper, Imagining Flight; and Erisman, Boys' Books. On aeromodeling, see Butsch, 'The Commodification of Leisure'; Schreiner, Aviation's Great Recruiter. 12. Collins, Boys' Book of Model Aeroplanes, 3–4. 13. Dougheny, 'For the Boys to Make,' 27. 14. Anon, 'Schoolboys Learn to Make Air Ships.' 15. Hertz, Complete Book of Model Aircraft, 197–230; F.A.O. Schwartz [New York], 'Grand Christmas Exhibition,' 16, advertising circular, 1910, oversize materials, Toys, Games, and Hobbies, Warshaw Collection of Business Americana (hereafter Warshaw Collection), Archives Center, National Museum of American History (hereafter NMAH Archives) Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; '"Ideal" Model Aeroplane Supplies' (1911 W.H. Phipps (New York). March 1911. "Model Aeroplanes and Supplies.' Advertisement". In Aircraft March, 25 [Google Scholar]–1912), 22–3, product catalog, general collections, Library of Congress; Anon, 'Boys' Page for June,' 290; Dougheny, 'For the Boys to Make,' 27; Splint, 'Boys Who Fly,' 280. 16. Anon, 'Youngsters Invent Model Aeroplanes'; Anon, 'Schoolboys Have an Aeronautic Class'; Seaton, 'Shop Problems,' 294–7. 17. Anon, 'A Sport That Reminds Us'; Hall, Handicraft for Handy Boys, 300. 18. Anon, 'Boy Knights' Club,' 356. 19. Schloeder, 'Scientific Models,' 134. 20. Phipps, 'Why Scale Models are Not Successful Flyers,' 305. 21. Zecchitella, Model Aircraft Yearbook, 48. 22. 'The Biography of Frank Zaic,' unpaginated typescript, 7 April 2001, Biographical Materials, Academy of Model Aeronautics History Program (hereafter AMAHP), National Model Aviation Museum (NMAM), Muncie, Indiana; Mumford, 'A New York Adolescence,' 40–1. 23. Anon, 'A Sport That Reminds Us.' 24. Verrill, Harper's Aircraft Book, 31. 25. Anon, 'After School; Boy Aviators'; Splint, 'Boys Who Fly,' 295. 26. 'Boy Aviator and Type of Biplane Seen at Show,' Boston American, February 18, 1910, and 'Airship Show Surprises All,' Boston Daily Globe, February 17, 1910, newspaper clippings, in 'The Scrapbook of Percy Pierce,' (hereafter Pierce Scrapbook) NMAM; Collins, Second Boys' Book of Model Aeroplanes, 16; [Pierce], 'Model Notes,' December 1911 Pierce, Percy W. December 1911. "'Model Notes.'". In Aeronautics December, 208 [Google Scholar], 208. 27. Spon & Chamberlain [New York], 'Percy Pierce Flyer,' (1910), drawings and instruction booklet, V0001200 – Stick Models, Models Vertical Files (hereafter NASM Vertical Files), Archives, National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC; 'Percy Pierce Flyer' advertising circular (ca September 1910), Pierce Scrapbook, NMAM. 28. Hertz, Complete Book of Model Aircraft, 238–9; Zecchitella, Model Aircraft Yearbook, 58. 29. Hertz, Complete Book of Model Aircraft, 197–8; Phillis, 'Percy Pierce Type,' 6. 30. 'Pierce Flyer,' instruction booklet, NASM Vertical Files. For price comparison, see '"Ideal" Model Aeroplane Supplies,' (1912), HTCC. 31. According to Steven A. Gelber, craft kits likely first appeared in the nineteenth century with the simplified needlepoint projects marketed to middle‐class women. See, his Hobbies, 261–7. 32. On craft production of full‐scale airplanes, see Olszowka, 'Aviation's Pioneering Spirit.' 33. 'Pierce Flyer,' instruction booklet, NASM Vertical Files. 34. Phipps, 'Model Aeroplanes and Supplies,' 371, and, Pierce Flyer advertisement, [n.d.], V0000205, Catalogs # 2, Models, NASM Vertical Files; Phillis, 'Percy Pierce Type,' 6; Schloeder, 'Chronology of Model Aviation,' 182–4. 35. Ferguson, Engineering the Mind's Eye, 3, 23, 87. On education and technical literacy, see Stevens, Grammar of the Machine. 36. Wallace, Rockdale, 237–9. 37. On contest rules, see Verrill, Harper's Aircraft Book, 70–3; Collins, Second Boys' Book of Model Aeroplanes, 245–7; Hall, Handicraft for Handy Boys, 300–2. These rules serve as an example of the 'stealth technologies' of standards identified by Slaton and Abbate in their 'The Hidden Lives of Standards,' 95–143. 38. Schloeder, 'Scientific Models,' 134. 39. Schloeder, 'Chronology of Model Aviation,' 182–4; [Pierce], 'Model Notes,' 208. 40. Clubs rarely had more than a dozen members, but could serve as local chapters for larger parent organizations, as was the case with the Illinois Model Aero Club, which boasted 1000 members soon after it was established in 1912; DeLancey, 'What a Model Club Can Do,' 87. 41. Ideal sold two mechanized winders, an '"Ideal" Winder for Rubber Strands' for 85 cents postage paid, and the '"Ideal" Patent Friction Winder,' for 38 cents including postage. See, '"Ideal" Model Aeroplane and Supplies,' 1912, 13, 31, HTCC. Percy Pierce sold a winder for 50 cents; see 'Aero‐Models,' product catalog [1912], Pierce Scrapbook, NMAM. On homemade winders, see Prentice, 'Stability in Model Aeroplanes,' 24–5; Kneiff, 'High School Aeronautics,' November 1912 Kneiff, Jack and Stout, William B. November 1912. "'High School Aeronautics.'". In Aerial Age November, 15–16. [Google Scholar], 15–16; Anon, 'Model Aviation,' September 1912 Anon. September 1912. "'Model Aviation.'". In Aerial Age September, 13 [Google Scholar], 13. According to Strasser, Never Done, 45–6, Dover eggbeaters cost as little as 9 cents at the end of the nineteenth century. 42. Phipps, 'Flying Machine Models,' 188; Johnson, Theory and Practice of Model Aeroplaning, 75–6, 146; A. Melcombe & Co., 'Holds All World Records,' 29; Hertz, Complete Book of Model Aircraft, 235–40; Verrill, Harper's Aircraft Book, 41–62. 43. Schloeder, 'Chronology of Model Aviation,' 183. Drawings for the Cecil Peoli Racer reprinted in Verrill, Harper's Aircraft Book, 50; Ideal, 'Cecil Peoli Champion Racer,' instruction booklet, 1917, Instructions, Models, NASM Vertical Files; '"Ideal" Model Aeroplane Supplies,' 1912, 22–3, HTCC. 44. On promotions see, 'Cecil Peoli Champion Racer,' instruction booklet, NASM Vertical Files; Ideal, 'Boys Build the Long Distance Racer,' 31. 45. Anon, 'Peoli Killed in Flight'; Anon, 'Los Angeles Airmen Killed'; 'Cecil M. Peoli: Early Baldwin RED DEVIL Pilot,' typescript biography, Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Collection, NASM Archives; 'Ideal Aeroplane and Supplies,' product catalog, 1918, 12–13, HTCC. 46. Frank DiTripani quoted in Kisseloff, You Must Remember This, 128–9. 47. Kneiff, 'High School Aeronautics,' December 1912 Kneiff, Jack and Stout, William B. December 1912. "'High School Aeronautics.'". In Aerial Age December, 15 [Google Scholar], 15; Pierce, 'Selley Monoplane,' 24; Surini, 'Surini Model,' 183; Anon, 'New Pacific Coast Record,' 21. See also, Anon, 'Lauder Duration Model,' 256. Five of the six 'world record models' described in Cavanaugh's Model Aeroplanes and Their Engines, 52–82, were A‐frame pushers. For later examples, see Garber, Building and Flying Model Aircraft, 91–134; Hamburg, Beginning to Fly, 117–30; Claudy, Beginner's Book of Model Airplanes, 137–45; Junior Birdmen of America, 'The Beginners Twin Pusher,' Handbook Number 4, Junior Birdman Library Series (1934), V0000350‐Instructions, Models, NASM Vertical Files. 48. Anon, 'Boys Find Sport.' 49. Schloeder, 'Chronology of Model Aviation,' 182–3. 50. Despite its popularity, accurate estimates of the number of A‐frame pushers produced are elusive. One guess, published in Model Airplane News in 1961, places the figure conservatively at several tens of thousands, but if one takes into account those purchased ready‐made, assembled from kits, improvised at home, or constructed as part of a model‐building course, the true figure was likely several times higher. See, Winter, 'Were These Models the Greatest?,' 14–15. 51. Verrill, Harper's Aircraft Book, 32; '"Ideal" Model Aeroplane Supplies,' 1912, 1, 34, inside back cover, HTCC; 'Ideal Model Aeroplane and Supplies,' 1918, 10, HTCC; Schloeder, 'Scientific Models,' 134. 52. On toy marketing practices, see Cross, Kids' Stuff; Formanek‐Brunell, Made to Play House; Jacobsen, Raising Consumers and 'Manly Boys and Enterprising Dreamers'; Cook, Commodification of Childhood. 53. '"Ideal" Model Aeroplane Supplies,' 1912, 11, 26, 32–3, HTCC; 'Cecil Peoli Champion Racer,' instruction booklet, NASM Vertical Files. 54. Anon, 'New York Model Club,' 18; Collins, Boys Book of Model Aeroplanes, 15, 17; Anon, 'Boys' Page for June,' 290. 55. 'Ideal Model Aeroplane and Supplies,' 1918, 12–13, HTCC. 56. In 1910, early A‐frame pushers in London retailed for US$15 fully assembled, see Phipps, 'Flying Machine Models,' 188. The 'Pierce Racer,' another A‐frame pusher design was available as plans, a construction kit, or a ready‐to‐fly version for 25 cents, US$3.50, and US$8.00 respectively in 1912, see 'Aero‐Models,' Pierce Scrapbook, NMAM. See also, Model Supply House, 'Model Aeroplane Handbook,' 1915, product catalog, general collections, Library of Congress; Verrill, Harper's Aircraft Book, 61–2. 57. On the maintenance of technology, see Franz, Tinkering; Harper, Working Knowledge; Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance; Orr, Talking About Machines. On building maintenance (and its opposite, demolition) see Bradley, 'Maintenance Matters'; Jim, 'Ephemeral Containers'; Byles, Rubble. 58. Anon, 'Boys' Page for June,' 290. In time, one expert recommended a lubricant for elastic motors concocted from water, glycerin, and 'soft soap' at a ratio of six, two, and half‐an‐ounce respectively that was to be 'boiled for some time and allowed to cool before being placed in a well‐corked bottle for a day or so.' See Magoun, 'Notes,' 296–7. Johnson, Model Aeroplaning, 72–3, offered a slightly modified recipe that used one ounce of soap to half‐an‐ounce of soda or salicylic acid. 59. Junior Editor, 'Two Lucky Boys,' 11; James Luddy, Jr., 'Double Monoplane Type,' 6; Phillis, 'Percy Pierce Type,' 6. On pricing see, Hall, Handicraft for Handy Boys, 307–8; 'Aero‐Models,' Pierce Scrapbook, NMAM; Phipps, 'Model Aeroplanes and Supplies,' March 1911 W.H. Phipps (New York). March 1911. "Model Aeroplanes and Supplies.' Advertisement". In Aircraft March, 25 [Google Scholar], 25; '"Ideal" Model Aeroplane Supplies,' 1912, 24, HTCC; Anon, 'Model Aviation,' August 1912 Anon. August 1912. "'Model Aviation.'". In Aerial Age August, 13 [Google Scholar], 13. 60. Collins, Boys' Book of Model Aeroplanes, 17. 61. Zelizer, Pricing the Priceless Child, 103–10; Jacobsen, Raising Consumers, 56–92. 62. Schreiner, Aviation's Great Recruiter, 11–12; Miller, Kitecraft and Kite Tournaments, 105; Walter Musciano, 'The Autobiography of Walter Musciano,' typescript, [January 2003], Biographical Files, AMAHP. 63. Schloeder, 'Killing the Goose,' 251. On club dues, see Anon, 'Boys' Page for June,' 290; Collins, Second Boys' Book of Model Aeroplanes, 250; Anon, 'Capitol Model Aero Club Activities,' 377. 64. Noonan, 'Milwaukee Model Aero Club,' 68–70, 166, 168. 65. '"Ideal" Model Aeroplane Supplies,' (1911 W.H. Phipps (New York). March 1911. "Model Aeroplanes and Supplies.' Advertisement". In Aircraft March, 25 [Google Scholar]–1912), 2–3, trade catalog, general collections, Library of Congress; '"Ideal" Model Aeroplane Supplies,' (1912), 4–6, and 'Ideal Model Aeroplanes and Supplies,' (1918), 2, 20–22, HTCC. 66. Miller, Kitecraft and Kite Tournaments, 11. Model airplanes did not supplant kite‐making as a popular activity, and some observers viewed kites as the first stage in a progressive aeronautics education that would eventually give way to models and, eventually, person‐carrying craft. See, Collins, Boys' Book of Model Aeroplanes, 3; Hall, Handicraft for Handy Boys, 298; Anon, 'Boys' Page for June,' 290; Splint, 'Boys Who Fly,' 280–1; 295; Hertz, Complete Book of Model Aircraft, 233–5. 67. On learning to shop, see Zukin, Point of Purchase, 35–62. 68. Kneiff, 'Toy Monoplane,' and 'High School Aeronautics,' November 1912 Kneiff, Jack and Stout, William B. November 1912. "'High School Aeronautics.'". In Aerial Age November, 15–16. [Google Scholar], 15–16; Anon, 'Boys' Page for June,' (original emphasis); Corn, 'Textualizing Technics,' 169–94. 69. Collins, Boys' Book of Model Aeroplanes, 37, 45, and Second Boys' Book of Model Aeroplanes, 44–7. On gender and tool use, see Gelber, Hobbies, 181–3. Advice manuals routinely fell short of providing a basic inventory of essential tools. Daniel Carter Beard's popular American Boy's Handy Book endorsed tool use generally without listing those 'handy' boys should possess. A. Neely Hall and the American Boy, by contrast, devoted considerable energy to the topic of tool selection and use of tools, as did organizations like the Boy Scouts of America. See, Hall, Handicraft for Handy Boys, vi, 14–45, and Boy Craftsman; Beard, 'How to Use Common Tools,' 336; Anon, 'Tools for the Boy Carpenter,' 85; and Claudy, 'The Right Way to Use Tools,' 156; and, 'Uncle Bill' Wood, 'How to Keep and Use Tools' (n.d.), Boy Scouts, Warshaw Collection, NMAH Archives. By the end of the 1920s, model airplane guides often provided more explicit discussions on the subject of tools. See Garber, Building and Flying Model Aircraft, 53–6; Hamilton, Complete Model Aircraft Manual, 8–10; Claudy, Beginner's Book of Model Airplanes, 86–94; Hamburg, Beginning to Fly, 74–8; McEntee, '"Whats" and "What Nots",' 6–7, 39, 41. 70. Hall, Handicraft for Handy Boys, 160–9, 178–88; Stout, Boy's Book of Mechanical Models, vii–ix. Hall's advice followed the minor celebrity gained in 1910 by Louise Brigham, a social worker who furnished working‐class homes using barrels and shipping crates. See, Gelber, Hobbies, 211–15. 71. Collins, The Boys' Book of Model Aeroplanes, 35–7, 43, 51, 53–6, 89–90; Hall, Handicraft for Handy Boys, 306, 308, 311–12, 314, 320; Anon, 'Boys' Page for June,' 290. Bamboo, a species of grass distributed in tropical and mild‐temperate climates, was widely available in the United States in the early twentieth century and routinely suggested for boys' craft projects. See, for example, Young, 'Kites,' 182; Kneiff, 'Bamboo Squawker'; J. Deltour, Inc., 'Bamboo,' 406. On the distribution of bamboo, see McClure, Bamboos, 3–4. 72. Verrill, Harper's Aircraft Book, ix, 32, 36–40, 47, 55. Verrill stopped short of endorsing the 'putting together parts' obtained from dealers, only because of the 'greater satisfaction obtained by building an aeroplane model entirely by yourself' (40). 73. Phipps, 'Directions for Carving a Propeller,' in Model Supply House, 'Model Aeroplane Handbook,' 21, general collections, Library of Congress; Cavanaugh, Model Aeroplanes and Their Engines, 8–17. 74. Hall, Handicraft for Handy Boys, 321–2; Verrill, Harper's Aircraft Book, 30–40; Collins, Boys' Book of Model Aeroplanes, 50–3. 75. '"Ideal" Model Aeroplane Supplies,' 1912, 7–11. 76. Lévi‐Strauss, Savage Mind, 16–18, 1–33 (passim); Strasser, Waste and Want; Herman, 'The Bricoleur Revisited,' 37–63. On trash, see Rogers, Gone Tomorrow; Royte, Garbage Land; Rathje and Murphy, Rubbish!; and Steinberg, Down to Earth, 226–38. 77. On the commercialization of sport, see Hardy, '"Adopted by all the leadings clubs".' 78. McMahon, 'Elementary Aeronautics and Model Notes,' 61. 79. On Taylorism and its cultural significance, see Kanigel, One Best Way; Banta, Taylored Lives; Hounshell, From American System to Mass Production; Aitken, Scientific Management in Action; Layton, Revolt of the Engineers; Noble, American By Design; Oldenziel, Making Technology Masculine; Rutherford, Selling Mrs. Consumer; Hays, Conservation and the Gospel of Efficiency. Ideas about conservation predated Taylor, as Rabinbach argues convincingly in his provocative exploration of the cultural reception of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, Human Motor. 80. DeLancey, 'What a Model Club Can Do,' 87. 81. Anon, 'Hydro Models Giving Good Performance,' 233; Anon, 'Model Aeroplane Club Activities,' 469; Anon, 'Scale Model of the Thomas‐Morse Scout,' 401. 82. Anon, 'Fokker Model,' 209. 83. Anon, 'S.E.V. Model,' 185. 84. Camm, 'Running a Model Aero Club,' 605, Design of Model Aeroplanes, and Model Aeroplanes. 85. Anon, 'Model Builders Employ Standard Wing Sections,' 41. 86. Anon, 'Latest List of Model Aeroplane Records,' 516. 87. Anon, 'Loening Monoplane,' 219. 88. Ideal, 'Build and Fly Your Own 3ft. Ideal Model Aeroplane,' 29. 89. Ibid. 90. 'Build an Improved "Ideal" De Havilland (DE H‐4),' instruction booklet and construction kit, 1926, Hubbard Collection. LeRoy Weber, Jr., 'The Autobiography of LeRoy Weber, Jr.,' 1, undated typescript, AMAHP. Ideal's construction methods were consistent by the early 1920s. See 'How to Build an "Ideal" Curtiss Training Plan (JN4D‐2),' instruction booklet, 1920, Hubbard Collection. 91. Ideal, 'Build and Fly Your Own 3ft. Ideal Model Aeroplane,' 29. 92. Anon, 'How To Make Money,' American Boy, December 1921 Anon. December 1921. "'How To Make Money.'". In American Boy December, 29 [Google Scholar], 29.