[POLAR EXPLORATION—BYRD ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION II]. THE CURTISS-WRIGHT CONDOR “WILLIAM HORLICK” FLYING OVER MANHATTAN ON THE EVE OF THE 1933 EXPEDITION

[POLAR EXPLORATION—BYRD ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION II]. THE CURTISS-WRIGHT CONDOR “WILLIAM HORLICK” FLYING OVER MANHATTAN ON THE EVE OF THE 1933 EXPEDITION

Vintage gelatin-silver press photograph, apparently 1933. Approximately 7½ × 10 inches. The image shows the Curtiss-Wright T-32 Condor II, “William Horlick,” in flight above the Manhattan skyline, with the Chrysler Building plainly visible at right and the expedition legend visible along the fuselage. The photograph records the specially equipped twin-engine biplane associated with Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s Second Antarctic Expedition of 1933–35. Approximate physical print dimensions: 10 × 7.5 in. (254 × 191 mm).

A strong, unusually clear publicity image: the great biplane crosses the foreground at close range, its struts, engines, and twin wings sharply articulated against the city below. The print retains its wide white border. Visible condition includes scattered surface soiling, small handling marks and edge wear, a short crease or abrasion at the lower border, and a faint diagonal mark at the upper margin; the image itself remains legible and visually effective.

Verso bears a faint printed copyright-and-reproduction notice, with blank printed fields for captioning information, together with a manuscript notation that appears to read “650 CW.” No photographer, agency, date, or negative number is securely legible from the scan. The sheet is pictured in the present scan with the verso first; the recto/verso order has been corrected for this catalogue record.

The “William Horlick,” registration NR12384, was a Curtiss T-32 Condor II supplied for Byrd’s second expedition. Contemporary reference sources identify it as an expedition aircraft later adapted for Antarctic service with floats and skis. The expedition’s records include 1933 Curtiss-Condor donation files, and the aircraft became one of the most recognizable machines associated with the Little America campaign. Here, before the polar landscape replaced the urban one, the Condor appears as both advanced commercial aviation and promotional emblem of a major American exploratory venture.

Its appeal lies in that exact conjunction: an identified expedition aircraft, a compelling pre-departure New York setting, and a physical press print whose faded verso notice still documents its original news-distribution purpose.

Provenance: From the Eric C. Caren Archive.