Aviatrix -- June 1, 2008

This photo is from the cover of Aero and Hydro: America's Aviation Weekly, 03-October-1911. Sadly, the cover was scanned in such a way that the aviatrix's name was cut off. She looks like a real flier, and not someone who was just posing in an aeroplane. The most famous female fliers of the time were Matilde Moisant and Harriet Quimby.


Speaking of fliers, we saw many pelicans heading north as we drove along the Great Highway this evening.



Update 06-April-2009: The Library of Congress Flickr photostream (http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/) has several shots of a lady who looks much like this aviatrix, some apparently taken about the same time as this one. Her name was Helene Dutrieu. She was Belgian but later married a Frenchman and changed nationality. She drove ambulances during WWI and later established an aviation prize.