New York, March 22, 1915. "Navy dirigible, Long Island." 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size.

April 13, 1938. Washington, D.C. "Goodyear Blimp, Golden Gate." Promoting the World's Fair in San Francisco. Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size.

April 13, 1938. Washington, D.C. "Goodyear blimp Enterprise at Washington Air Post." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.

"Graf Zeppelin over Capitol." The German airship on its visit to Washington in October 1928. National Photo Co. Collection glass negative. View full size.

June 9, 1937. "Congress sees model of new proposed American-designed dirigible. Rep. Edward A. Kenney (right) of New Jersey, Chairman of the House Interstate Commerce Committee, viewing a model of a new American designed dirigible displayed at the Capitol today. Roland B. Respess, President of the Respess Aeronautical Engineering Corp., is pointing out the features of the ship to the House member. The House Interstate Subcommittee is hearing the witness on a bill recently introduced to authorize the loan of $12 million for constructing two eight-million-cubic-foot dirigible airships, a large American airship plane, and Atlantic operating terminal with a view toward establishing twice-a-week Trans-Atlantic airship service." Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size.

October 1910, aboard the steamship Trent off Bermuda. "M. Vaniman and cat." Melvin Vaniman, first engineer aboard the hydrogen airship America, with the tabby cat mascot of their ill-fated attempt at the first air crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size.

"Balloon, 1923." The fez wearers would seem to indicate a connection with the Shrine convention held in Washington in June 1923. View full size.

Oct. 15, 1910. "Wellman airship seen from Trent." Walter Wellman's hydrogen dirigible America just before being abandoned by its crew near Bermuda, 1,370 miles into an attempt to cross the Atlantic from New Jersey. Its engines having failed, the America drifted out of sight, never to be seen again. View full size.

Washington, D.C. Navy airship "Los Angeles" at the Hoover inauguration, March 1929. View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative.

Vicinity of Washington, D.C. Army balloon circa 1918-1921. View full size. Glass negative from the National Photo Company Collection.

"Anthony's Wireless Airship." A small powered blimp used in 1912 to demonstrate remote control of aircraft by wireless telegraphy. ("Professor Anthony has exhibited a method of airship control of his own by wireless. He and Leo Stephens recently gave an exhibition of starting, controlling, turning and stopping an airship by wireless which was quite a long distance from the station which controlled its action.") View full size. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection.

The Navy airship ZR-1 (USS Shenandoah) under construction in 1922-23 at Lakehurst Naval Air Station, New Jersey. The 680-foot, 36-ton zeppelin, the first rigid airship to use helium rather than hydrogen, broke up in a storm over Ohio in 1925 with a loss of 14 lives. View full size. George Grantham Bain Collection.

August 25, 1923. The Navy airship ZR-1 in its hangar at Lakehurst Naval Air Station, New Jersey. View full size. George Grantham Bain Collection.

The airship ZR-1 leaving its hangar at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey in 1923. View full size. George Grantham Bain Collection.

Sept.3, 1925. Front of the USS Shenandoah near Sharon, Ohio, the day after it fell to earth in three sections with the loss of 14 lives. Twenty-nine survived. Panoramic photo by Rell Sam Clements. View full size.