THE STORY OF A BOSTON FAMILY: ANN DOWSE WILLIAMS/MARY WILLIAMS LANGLEY

1903. DALL, Caroline Healey. THE STORY OF A BOSTON FAMILY. Par 1: Ann Dowse Williams. Part 2: Mary Williams Langley. Boston: Privately Printed, 1903. Printed wraps; 29 pages. First Edition. The biographies of two early Boston matrons, with Mary Williams Langley being the mother of famed aviator and astronomer Samuel Pierpont Langley. Rare- I have been unable to locate any other first edition copies of this title for sale. Signed presentation from Samuel Pierpont Langley on the front cover (which is also the title page): "Mrs. Polly P. Clark, with the regards of S.P. Langley." Born in Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1834, Langley was a professor of astronomy and physics and is the inventor of the bolometer, which is able to detect and measure electromagnetic radiation. He also developed an interest in aeronautics and began building one of the first aircraft, named Aerodrome. Several models, which were catapulted of off houseboats, failed but in 1896 one model flew for more than half a mile. Later that year another one remained airborne for nearly two minutes. Just a few months later the Wright brothers achieved the first powered flight at Kitty Hawk and throughout his life, Langley maintained that if funds had not been depleted for his Aerodrome, he would have achieved the fame given to the Wright brothers. Langley Air Force in Virginia, the first U.S. Air Force base, is named for him. He died in 1906. Good condition (contents clean & tight but front cover is detached with several small tears, little wear to the edge of his signature). Rare, especially signed! $1,500.00.