HOWARD HUGHES (1938-57) Photo archive

Howard Hughes. 1938-1957. New York, Los Angeles: Various, 1938-1957. Archive of 11 variously-sized vintage original black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photos. Nearly all have original blurb present as well as ink date/publication stamps on verso. Some publishing use wear, overall near fine.

Howard Hughes (1905–1976) was an American billionaire, aviator, filmmaker and engineer. He is best known for his record-breaking aviation feats, groundbreaking Hollywood films, acquiring Trans World Airlines (TWA), and his transformation into a famous eccentric recluse later in life.

He designed and flew an aircraft that broke global speed records. In 1938, he set a world record by flying around the world in just 91 hours. He is also famous for funding and piloting the “Spruce Goose” (H-4 Hercules), a massive wooden aircraft that remains one of the largest wingspan planes ever built.

Hughes produced and directed iconic and highly controversial movies, including the Academy Award-winning Two Arabian Knights (1927) and the epic aviation film Hell’s Angels (1930). Another film, The Outlaw (1941), is famous for other reasons. He was also widely known for dating, and in some cases making stars of, those actresses he featured.

Because of severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), chronic pain from a near-fatal 1946 plane crash, and drug dependency, he retreated from public view in the 1950s. He spent the last decades of his life living in almost total seclusion in luxury hotel penthouses. (Wikipedia)

Included here are Hughes: in his airplane, in a car with NYC mayor Fiorello La Guardia, and with Secretary of State Cordell Hull (all in 1938); a rare on set photo from 1940 showing Hughes directing Walter Huston for The Outlaw; images of the Spruce Goose in 1946 and 1947; photos of him testifying during a Senate interrogation in 1947; and a candid which appears to have originated in 1957.