The Kon-Tiki Expedition 1947 (Norway) 2 Black and white photographs The Kon-Tiki Museum The Kon-Tiki expedition in 1947 was one of the most famous and celebrated maritime expeditions of the 20th century. In an astounding feat of navigation, a crew of six sailed 8,000 km across the Pacific Ocean in a hand-built raft, from South America to the Tuamotu Islands, in Polynesia. During those 101 days, the crew manned a raft built with the materials and technologies available to South American seafarers of pre-Columbian times. The expedition were not simply adventurous; they had a specific scholarly objective, to demonstrate that ancient peoples could have made long sea voyages, creating contacts between separate cultures. The intellect and driving force behind the expedition was the Norwegian explorer and ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl (1914-2002), who also had a background in zoology, botany, and geography. The Kon-Tiki was not his only expedition. He made four oceanic trips in primitive ve...

Improvements in Airplanes with Rotating Wings 18-04-1922 (application date) 01-01-1937 (expiry date) (Spain) 45 Pages on paper (application), 1 white and blue drawing on paper (plan); 21,2 × 34,1 cm Archives of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office ES81406 Juan de la Cierva y Codorníu was born in Murcia, Spain in 1895. Interested in engineering from a very early age, he constructed prototypes of airplanes and helicopters along with a group of his friends. Together with his friends he built the BCD1 (‘Cangrejo’), the first Spanish airplane that can be said to fly. After some failures with traditional designs, Juan de la Cierva directed his attention to a different type of aircraft—these had rotating blades instead of fixed wings, allowing them to remain in motion at low speed. Thus he conceived the idea of autorotation, and he baptized this machine as ‘Autogyro . ’ It would take until January 1923 before the first sufficiently stable flight of C.4 was achieved, after which Jua...

Letter from István Dobos to the Mayor of Gyula Record: 8-12-1912, Budapest (Aerodrom in Rákos) Photograph: between 1914-1918 2 Pages, manuscript on paper, with stamps, 1 photograph Békés County Archives of the National Archives of Hungary HU-MNL-BeML – XV – 77 – Dobos István The history of flying is filled with adventure, invention and tragedy. The early decades of the 20th century were an especially lively and heroic age, witnessing major breakthroughs in aviation. On 8 December 1912, István Dobos (1892-1937), born in the city of Gyula, in Hungary, and at the time a young and ambitious aviator, wrote to the Mayor of his home town. Dobos told that he had been carrying out experiments in the Rákos Airfield, but that results had been disappointing due to inadequate motors on the planes. He added that he did not have the finances to acquire the necessary materials to improve the motors. As a citizen born in the city of Gyula, he pleaded with the Mayor and other authorities to ...

Funicular Railway System 17-12-1907, Madrid (application date), 26-12-1927 (expiry date) (Spain) 65 Sheets of paper (application), 3 white and blue drawings on paper (plans); 32,5 × 22,8 cm Archives of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office OEPM ES42237 Leonardo Torres Quevedo, born to a well-off family in Santa Cruz de Iguña (Cantabria, Spain), studied in the Official School of the Civil Engineers between 1871 and 1876. He developed a type of aerial cableway for the transport of people. The first tests, carried out in the Iguña valley, were a success and the invention was patented in France, Switzerland, England and the United States. Another of his inventions presented here was a new system for ferries, patented in December 1907, proposing what would in time become the Spanish Aerocar used in the cataracts of the Niagara. The invention proposed several innovations in the cable system using a cable with greater section and more flexibility. His final invention for funiculars was th...

Petition to HM the King by George Vella on Behalf of Cabmen 09-08-1904 (Malta) 3 Pages, manuscript on paper, 20,4 × 33 cm National Archives of Malta NAM/CSG02/879/1904 The Malta tramway was inaugurated on 23 February1905, with Mgr Pietro Pace, the bishop of Malta, blessing all sixteen new trams as three of them made the inaugural trip to Valletta. Newspapers reported that an enthusiastic population were keen to ride on the new trams, and the profits of the first two days (£50) were donated to charity. The new trams were in direct competition with the cabs, boats and railway. However, six months later, on 9 August, George Vella submitted a petition to the King denouncing the “dreadful calamity” that had fallen on the 1,800 cabmen, “the majority of whom have from 5 to 10 children, besides their wives, to keep.” The petition was eventually submitted to the King and on 7 September and the local authorities were informed that “the King has not been pleased to give any directions ....

Viking Ship Ship: c . 820 Photograph: 1904, Oseberg, (Tønsberg, Norway) 1 black and white photograph National Archives of Norway RA/S-1021/Ej/L0697 The term ‘Viking Ship’ refers to a large category of Nordic wooden vessels built and used by the Vikings, during the era that bears their name, 800-1050 AD . The Vikings were feared and admired across Europe; their voyages and their incursions remain the stuff of legend, and their ships were almost as famous as the Vikings themselves. Viking ships of all types were known for their technical and artistic perfection. The design varied, depending on whether they were intended for military or commercial use. Most Viking navigation was coastal or along rivers, but, as is well known, they sometimes engaged in deep sea voyages, with ships designed for Atlantic navigation sometimes known by the Norse term ‘Knarr . ’ Viking ships were fast and manoeuvrable, with the strength to survive ocean crossings. Remains of various Viking ships have b...