A front page flight

NYT 1910-05-30 Glenn Curtiss Albany flight

Maybe you've seen that video that's been bouncing around online today of every New York Times front page since 1852 -- in 55 seconds.

There's an Albany-related historical bit mixed up in there: The first news photograph ever published on the paper's front page -- in May of 1910 -- was from... Albany.

Yep, it was a photo of Glenn Curtiss piloting "The Albany Flyer" biplane shortly after takeoff from a spot that's now in the Port of Albany. Curtiss was attempting to become the first person to fly from Albany to New York City -- and, in the process, claim a $10,000 prize from the New York World (something like $250k in today's dollars). He was successful, making the trip 2 hours and 46 minutes of flight time with two stops. Over at Hoxsie, Carl has he whole story. (Because of course he does.)

Anyway, NYT went all out on its coverage of the Curtiss flight. It even hired a special train to follow him on the route. And it published a multi-page spread with a bunch of photos, including that first one from Albany on the front page.

[historical bit via Kottke]

screengrab from NYT Times Machine

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For a decade All Over Albany was a place for interested and interesting people in New York's Capital Region. It was kind of like having a smart, savvy friend who could help you find out what's up. AOA stopped publishing at the end of 2018.

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