RUTH phoo added

INITIATED INTO THE LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA BREAKFSAST CLUB, RIDING THE CLUBS STEEDS. LEFT TO RIGHT: LOUISE THADEN, PITTSBURGH, PA; MARJORIE CRAWFORD, HOLLYWOOD, CA; BOBBY TROUT, LOS ANGELES, CA AND RUTH ELDER, BEVERLY HILLS, CA. TAKEN August-1929. This would be a fantastic addition to your collection! It is a reproduction 8 x 10 inch glossy real photo with white border. It is crisp and clear and perfect focus. You will love it! --------------------ABOUT RUTH ----------------------------------------------Ruth Elder was a twenty-three year old, some-time actress when she heard of "Lucky Lindy's" flight from New York, to Paris. She made up her mind that she would be the first "Lady Lindy," the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. Her stage critics and others immediately held her in ridicule when she made her announcement. Some called her proposed flight a publicity stunt, prompted by Lindbergh's success and designed to help her acting career. In part, they were probably right. The publicity generated by her announcement was good exposure for her career. However, it was more than that. Elder was out to prove that a woman was equal to a man. It was that simple. The ocean crossing that lay ahead of her was far from simple, however. Ruth Elder was a very deliberate person. In plotting her routes, she made doubly sure to avoid the worst of the Atlantic storms. However, that was not good enough. In her headlong approach to this goal, she ignored some basic advice: to avoid the North Atlantic in winter. Sure, Lindbergh succeeded, but perhaps he was lucky. Everyone before him tried and failed. Elder's backers urged her to wait until spring, but other women were preparing to attempt the flight also. She did not want to lose out to one of them; she tasted the victory. She was going to be the first. Elder chose a Stinson "Detroiter" airplane. It had been proven for its ability in long distance flying. She called it the American Girl. "Looking back," she said, "perhaps my drive to succeed clouded my judgment. The weather was awful. My choice of copilot, George Halderman, was as deliberate as my choice of airplane. He was one of the best pilots of the day." Because of the rash of accidents that occurred at Roosevelt Field, Long Island, plus the fact that Elder did not have a pilot's license, the owner of the field refused to let her take off. He only backed off after she agreed to have her copilot, Halderman, pilot the plane while she acted as copilot. Elder remembers, "On October 11, 1927 in spite of bad weather, we took off. The American Girl carried 520 gallons of fuel, enough for 48 hours of flying time." Lindbergh made the flight in 21 hours, 40 minutes, and Elder felt the American Girl would make it even if they ran into worse weather conditions. The press at first did not take her seriously. Elder, they were sure, was just an attractive actress and liberated woman looking for publicity. They downplayed it until they realized that on October 13, the American Girl was overdue. Then they splashed the front pages with headlines voicing concern and wishes for her safe arrival. The newspapers sold out when they hit the streets. The New York Times reported, "Everybody in France is eager to see this audacious girl succeed in proving that she is not a weak woman. If she does succeed, that lovely American will have a triumph as great as Lindbergh's. The daring and self-confidence of that American girl has imbued public opinion with the conviction that she will succeed. There will be no ... pessimistic predictions that sought to discourage flights since the recent scenes of transatlantic disasters." Elder was almost successful in the dangerous crossing. The American Girl flew for 28 hours through storms during most of the trip over the Atlantic. Elder and Halderman flew within 360 miles of the Azores. An oil leak forced them to land in the water. Elder anticipated the possibility of a water landing and charted her course near the active shipping lanes. A Dutch oil tanker rescued them a short time after they ditched. They found a tumultuous welcome in Paris, and again in New York. But not everyone hailed her valiant and brave attempt as heroic. Katherine Davis, a sociologist, agreed with many of the male attitudes about flying and said publicly, "There is no woman alive today equipped for such a flight. She should not have even attempted such foolishness." In a few short years, Amelia Earhart proved Davis embarrassingly wrong. Elder continued flying and in 1929, she came in fifth in the First Women's Air Derby. Elder then retired from aviation and went on to become a successful Hollywood actress. She was married 6 times. ---------------------------------------------------------I will ship in a photo mailer for safety. (Note: ONLYCLASSICS-WEB-IMAGE print-does not appear on product-only on scan)In other words-the photo you get has no writing on it. Check out my other auctions for other great special interest, auto racing and motorcycle prints, posters and photos. Thanks for looking!..p1643