Victor Rickard General Aviation Collection (MS-555)
Scope and Contents
The collection contains a variety of materials documenting Victor Rickard’s aviation activities, including photographs, pilot’s licenses and identification cards, newspaper clippings, and video footage.
The collection includes several photographs, some original and some reproductions, and most dating from the 1920s through 1940s. The original photographs include one photo each of Victor Rickard during his World War I and World War II service, as well as several aircraft photographs. Of particular note is an oversize photo depicting a pilot (perhaps Rickard) in a biplane, surrounded by a crowd. The biplane has an advertisement for Hotpoint appliances on the side, and it appears to be carrying a 1930s era Hotpoint oven in the passenger seat of the plane. (Hotpoint was owned by General Electric at that time period.)
Pilot’s licenses and other identification cards (dated 1925-1956, 2003) provide additional photographs, as well as physical descriptions, fingerprints, and other identifying information about Victor Rickard. His original pilot’s license from 1925 is signed by Orville Wright.
Newspaper clippings dating from the mid-1920s until Rickard’s death in 2005 cover his various activities as a pilot, both in a contemporary reporting of events at the time, as well as in recollections via interviews with Rickard and in his obituary. Extensive biographical information can be found in these articles.
Articles and documents related to specific events or activities have in some cases been separated to their own folders, including Schenectady Rotary, the Aviation Pioneer Award (1991), and the dedication of a new kiosk about Rickard at the Empire State Aerosciences Museum at the Schenectady Airport (2007). The kiosk dedication file also includes a PowerPoint file of 50 slides presented at the event (see ms555_e0003).
The collection also contains video, with explanatory documentation from Clifford Sagendorf. One VHS labeled “Victor Rickard (Forstell Video Productions)” contains video from original home movie films captured by Victor Rickard, including construction of Schenectady Airport; footage of vacations (some by airplane) including Miami, Florida (beach and aerial footage); and stunt flying of various aircraft. This VHS was digitized by the family and is available in the collection as ms555_e0001. A second VHS tape is a mass-produced history of Vermont, which includes some footage of serious flooding in 1927, with which Victor Rickard assisted. And finally, a second DVD (ms555_e0002) contains a video history project created by Rickard’s great-niece Erika.
Dates
- Creation: 1925-2014
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1925 - 1940
Creator
- Rickard, Victor, 1902-2005 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
There are no donor-imposed restrictions on access to this collection; however, necessary preservation restrictions are described below.
Electronic records: All electronic records listed in this finding aid are processed and available; however, researchers are requested to provide two days advance notice when requesting electronic records. Call (937) 775-2092 or e-mail us at library-archives-ref@wright.edu. Access to original electronic media (original CD, floppy disk, etc.) is restricted.
Audio/visual materials: Due to preservation concerns, only reference copies of original audio and video materials can be accessed in the reading room. Items without reference copies can be digitized at the request of a patron for the cost of creating a digital copy. Please provide us at least two weeks advance notice if you would like to request an audio or video reference copy. Call (937) 775-2092 or e-mail us at library-archives-ref@wright.edu .Use of digitized content is subject to conditions governing use.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Biographical / Historical
Victor Arthur Rickard was born January 3, 1902, in East Cobleskill, Schoharie County, New York (about 30-40 miles west of Schenectady and Albany), to Madison A. and Maude (King) Rickard. He served in the U.S. Navy at the Great Lakes training camp near Chicago and the naval flying camp at Pensacola. He began his flying career in Chicago, receiving instruction at the Bud Morriss Aviation School there, and serving in the U.S. Naval Air Service.
After his discharge from the Navy in 1921, Rickard worked briefly for Curtiss-Wright at Mineola (on Long Island). In 1922, he purchased his own airplane, a Standard J-1 biplane, at government surplus auction in Texas. He soon began barnstorming and selling passenger rides.
When pilot’s licenses became required, Rickard received his first one from the National Aeronautic Association of the U.S. in 1925, signed by Orville Wright, Chairman.
Also in 1925, Rickard became the first person to fly an airplane over Schenectady, New York, at night. He was the first pilot to land at the brand-new Schenectady Airport when it opened in 1927, and he served as the airport’s manager from 1927 to 1931. Afterwards, he was a pilot for General Electric (also in Schenectady), performing experimental and demonstration flights, as well as transporting G.E. executives. In these positions he met Charles Lindberg and Amelia Earhart. Rickard later worked for Link Aviation Devices (Binghamton, NY); Bell Telephone Laboratories (Hadley Field, NY); and All American Aviation Corp. He flew mail pick-up routes in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During World War II, he served again as an aviator with the U.S. Army Air Forces, supervising ground operations and flying air cargo in Europe.
Victor Rickard did not fly much after the 1940s and retired to Florida. He died in West Palm Beach on October 5, 2005, at the age of 103. He is buried at Bramanville Rural Cemetery, Howes Cave, New York.
Extent
0.25 linear feet
1.5 Gigabytes (ms555_e0001-ms555_e0003)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Victor Rickard was an early pilot in Schenectady, New York, and manager of the city’s airport from 1927-1931. He was also involved in U.S. Naval aviation during World War I and Army Air Services during World War II. The collection contains a photographs, pilot’s licenses and identification cards, newspaper clippings, and video footage.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged by format.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
A computer with software capable of reading *.PDF, *.PPT, and *.MP4 file format will be needed to view the preservation-formatted electronic records in this collection. Original file formats have also been retained (in addition to a preservation-format-converted version).
Other Finding Aids
The finding aid is available on the Special Collections and Archives, Wright State University Libraries web site at https://wright.libraryhost.com/repositories/2/resources/912 .
It is also available in the OhioLINK Finding Aid Repository at http://ead.ohiolink.edu/xtf-ead/.
Custodial History
The donor, Clifford Sagendorf, is the great-nephew of Victor Rickard. Clifford’s father Victor Sagendorf was the son of John Sagendorf and Mabel (Rickard) Sagendorf. When John Sagendorf died in 1930, Victor Rickard helped his sister Mabel raise her four children (including Clifford’s father Victor Sagendorf, who died in 2012). Victor Rickard and his wife Myra had no children.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated to Special Collections and Archives, Wright State University Libraries, by Clifford V. Sagendorf, great-nephew of Victor Rickard, in January 2014. Additional materials were in 2016.
Existence and Location of Originals
The original home movie films, from which the VHS and DVD video were created, are not included in this collection. These are believed to still be in possession of the family.
Existence and Location of Copies
Copies of the videos are believed to be available at the Empire State Aerosciences Museum, located at Schenectady County Airport, New York.
Separated Materials
One oversize photograph has been separated to Oversize storage. Original electronic media has been removed to the E-Archive.
donor
- Sagendorf, Clifford V. (Person)
Subject
- Schenectady County Airport (New York) (Organization)
- Rickard, Victor, 1902-2005 (Person)
- Title
- Guide to the Victor Rickard General Aviation Collection (MS-555)
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Lisa Rickey
- Date
- 2019 Dec 16
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Repository
Wright State University Libraries
Special Collections and Archives
3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy
Dayton OH 45435-0001 USA
937-775-2092
library-archives@wright.edu
