Printed and Manuscript Americana

Washington, D.C. February 24, 1914. One sheet, 10 1/4 x 8 1/2 in. (mm). Typed letter, signed by Alexander Graham Bell to Messrs. Mauro, Cameron, Lewis & Massie. In full: "Gentlemen, Mr. Baldwin, Mr. McCurdy and I had a conference with Mr. C. J. Bell very shortly after seeing you, and decided to go on with the Myers' Interference case. Of course youwill (sic) take all your instructions from Mr. C. J. Bell, the Trustee of the Association. Mr. Bell was to have written to you upon the subject and to have paid the amount owing, and to have given you instructions regarding future bills. Arrangements have been made with the Trustee to meet these promptly as they are rendered. As Mr. Bell is absent in Florida, I do not know whether he has c(o)mmunicated with you or not and therefore write for your information. I had a visit from Mr. Curtiss and am glad to find that he has recovered his interest in the A.E.A. so that he is now back on the same footing as he was in the beginning. Yours sincerely, Alexander Graham Bell." Pencil notations to text, presumably by Bell. Creasing from old folds, hole punch at top left corner. Lot also includes a typed letter, signed by aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss, dated April 2, 1912, addressed to Mauro, Cameron, Lewis & Massie, regarding coordinating a meeting for consultation.

Typed letter, signed by Canadian-American inventor Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), addressed to his legal counsel agreeing to move forward with an ongoing patent interference case. The dispute arose between members of Bell's research group, the Aerial Experimental Association (AEA), and another American inventor, George Francis Myers (1867-1961).

The invention, as detailed in the final hearing of the U.S. Patent Office, was for "...a flying machine and more particularly consists of means for maintaining or restoring the lateral equilibrium..." Other members of the AEA listed on the suit, all aviation pioneers in their own right, include Frederick "Casey Baldwin (1882-1948), John A. McCurdy (1886-1961), and Glenn Curtiss (1878-1930).