Kitty Hawk to the Smithsonian, undated

The William Preston Mayfield Photos document the career of an innovative photographer whose career spanned over sixty years of photographs in Dayton and the Miami Valley. Through these photographs the researcher can gain a visual understanding of the early evolution of flight as well as the growth of Dayton and the Miami Valley.

Series I, Wright Brothers' Early Flights, contains photographs of flights, aircraft, air shows and the people who surround the first thirty years of flight. Photos of interest: first helicopter flight (subseries A). This series contains many photographs of planes built and flown before 1930 as well as several interesting photos of air shows and pilots. This series also contains several photographs taken by F. Hermes an early photographer of the Wright Brothers. A larger photograph and a drawling of early flyer are cross referenced and can be found: OS73. All of these photographs range in dates from 1914 to 1940s although many are unmarked.

Series II, Postcards and First Day of Issue Stamps, contains the most unique of the collection and consists of postcards and First Days from all over the world depicting mostly the Wright Brothers with many other early pilots as well. Of particular interest are the postcards from Europe of the Wright Brothers flights in France. Also interesting are the holiday postcards, advertisements, and artistic postcards which incorporate the Wright Flyer. These items range in date from 1910s to the 1960s most of these have dates on the back.

Series III, Columbus Aerials, is the largest series in the collection and consists of several hundred photographs of downtown Columbus and The Ohio State University. Many of these photographs are dated on the back under the Mayfield seal they range in date from 1949-1959.

Series IV, Dayton Businesses and Homes, contains photographs of Dayton's downtown, businesses and homes ranging in date from the 1910s to the late 1950s. Of particular interest are those photographs in the beginning of the series showing the aftermath of the 1913 flood as well as pictures of city life in the early 1900s. There are also many photographs of prestigious homes in the Dayton area. Most of these photos are unmarked and undated those that are dated are from 1920s and 1930s.

Series V: Subject Photos, contains a collection of many different types of photographs including photos taken of a race between a street car and airplane. Also in the collection are photos taken for advertising purposes of local car dealerships. At the end of this series are artistic and abstract photographs. Most of these photos are unmarked and undated they range in date from 1910s to the 1950s.

Series VI, Dayton Aerials, contains aerial photographs of the Dayton area. Many of these photographs are marked and dated on the back under the Mayfield seal they range in date from 1949-1959.

Series VII, Other Areas of the Miami Valley, contains aerial photographs of Dayton's suburbs as well as other areas in the Miami Valley including Wilmington, Springfield and Lima, Ohio.