Map Showing the Overland and Overseas Flights of Charles A. Lindbergh

Gorgeous overview of the flight routes taken by the aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh.

After touching down on a grass airfield outside of Paris on May 21st, 1927, Charles Lindberg was propelled from a relatively unknown Air Mail pilot into an international celebrity. He had accomplished the first transatlantic flight, and solo no less! Several teams of well-financed pilots had attempted the crossing, but only Lindbergh had succeeded in his single-engine plane, The Spirit of St. Louis.

For his heroic feat, he was not only awarded the $25,000 Orteig Prize (announced in 1919 to any Allied pilot who could complete the Transatlantic flight), but also a Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Force Cross, and the Medal of Honor. Several such medals can be seen under the title on this map, drawn by Ernest Clegg and published by the John Day Company in 1928 to celebrate the life and achievements of this singular pilot.

A brief biography and portrait of Colonel (eventually Brigadier General) Lindbergh are also available in the decorative strapwork cartouche. The ornamentation continues around additional text boxes describing Lindbergh’s achievements; his first flights, the National Tour, flight to Mexico and South America, and the Atlantic Flight. This last is sequentially illustrated along the route path according to Lindbergh’s testimony. Other embellishing elements include windheads, a compass rose, and the ships of Columbus and Magellan; a not-so-subtle comparison to the greatest explorers of all.