Type: Glass Plate Negative (Period Press Copy Negatives)
Quantity: Pair of Two (2) Matching Glass Plate Negatives + Envelopes
Subject: Early Military / Daredevil Aviation Paratrooper Mass Jump from Biplanes
Date / Era: Circa 1920s
Format / Size: Approx. 4" x 5" each
Original Envelopes Included: Yes (Outer production sleeve & two original inner sleeves)
Overview & Provenance Offered for sale is a compelling pair of authentic vintage 1920s 4" x 5" glass plate press negatives documenting early aviation daredevils and military paratroopers leaping in formation from twin-engine biplanes.
Note on Status: This offering is for a matching pair of vintage period press copy negatives produced circa the 1920s by a newspaper darkroom. When press syndicates received wire photographs or photographic print dispatches of national aviation events, darkroom staff re-photographed the prints on glass copy plates to produce halftone engravings for publication. The crisp copy-stand board borders and print-mounting alignment tabs are visible along the margins of both plates.
The negatives are preserved in their vintage newspaper archive packaging:
Outer Brown Production Envelope:
Name: Parachute Jumpers
Inner Sleeves (Two Included):
Sleeve 1: "Dare Devils — Parachute Jumpers jump from speeding planes."
Sleeve 2: "Parachute Jumpers"
During the 1920s, formation parachute drops captured the public imagination through military flight demonstrations and barnstorming air circuses.
This dramatic air-to-air capture shows:
Three large open-cockpit biplanes (resembling period Martin MB-2 or Keystone bombers) cruising across the sky.
Multiple jumpers exiting the aircraft mid-flight, showing the full deployment sequence: a static-line or pilot chute opening directly off the tail, partially blossomed silk canopies, and five paratroopers suspended beneath open domes floating toward earth.
(The positive inversion preview image is shown strictly to demonstrate exposure, clarity, and subject resolution; the physical items offered for sale are the two antique glass plate negatives and their vintage archive sleeves).
Glass: Both glass plates are complete, flat, and solid. There are no cracks, breaks, or structural fractures running through the image field on either plate. The outer glass perimeter exhibits authentic, shallow darkroom margin chips and factory edge roughness confined strictly to the exterior rebate borders.
Emulsion Layer: High silver density with crisp optical resolution defining the biplane struts, engines, parachute shrouds, and jumper silhouettes against the sky. The silver gelatin emulsion is clean, exhibiting only minor peripheral silver mirroring and faint handling wear along the outer copy-stand margins.
Packaging: The outer printed production envelope and both matching inner paper sleeves are well-preserved with natural age-toning, light edge creases, and clear, bold period handwriting.