Levitt Luzern Custer Papers

Levitt Luzern Custer was an early aviator and this collection shows his accomplishments. There are early patents from his inventions, log books from when he timed for air races and photographs of his activities and the other famous aviators he worked with. Some records are missing that were probably destroyed in the 1965 fire that consumed his company.

Series I, Biographical, contains biographies written by and about Levitt Luzern Custer. Correspondences are also included within this series, and include letters from R.W. Schroeder, Walter R. Brookins, and J.H. Doolittle, all early aviators. Of particular interest are the files of his inventions.

Series II, Patents, includes original patents, most of which belong to Custer. Some other patents belong to his father, Levitt Elsworth Custer and another inventor John H. Hammond. Of major importance is the invention of the statoscope, a devise used to measure the change in altitude for a balloon, dirigible and other aircrafts.

Series III, Aviation Materials, contains materials related to aviation, excluding documents relating to the Wright Brothers, which are found in Series VI. Included in Series III are log books and information on the Early Birds, as well as some newspaper clippings.

Series IV, Publications, contains magazine and news publications. Of major interest is a souvenier copy of The Dayton Journal printed in the air from the balloon “Hoosier” on June 29, 1909. The original of this is found in the scrapbook found in Box 9, Series VII. Aviation journals such as the Aero Club of America’s journal are also within this series.

Series V, Photographs, includes photographs of ballooning, aviation, famous early aviators, and inventors such as Henry Ford. The photos encompass the years 1910-1960.

Series VI, Wright Brothers Material, holds some very extraordinary materials. A photograph of the first flight with a signature by Orville Wright is preserved here along with other photos. Dedication documents, booklets, and other memorabilia are also found in this series.

Series VII, Scrapbooks, is two scrapbooks belonging to the Custer family. In these, are clippings, documents, and photographs of major events, such as clipping of the work of the Wright Brothers, photographs of the 1913 Dayton flood, and certificates awarded to Custer.

Series VIII, Films, contains brief 16-mm reels of aviation races, C.F. Kettering’s 75th birthday party, and Dayton sporting events. In the final box are S-VHS copies of the 16mm original film. The S-VHS tapes are digitized for reference only and available in the E-Archives.

Series IX, Digitized Aviation Autograph Album dated 1945-1962, includes 258 digital scans and prints made from an album of aviation autographs collected by Custer. The original album spans 1945-1962, and was loaned to Special Collections and Archives in 2001 to digitize and then returned to the family. Each page was digitized and the file name corresponds to the page number. A few pages are blank. Custer collected the autographs at special events and club meetings, such as Early Bird Day at Governor’s Island in 1954. Entries by notable aviation figures often include the date signed, a personal note to Luzern Custer, and accomplishments in the field of aviation. It is truly a Who’s Who of aviation history.