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1924 USS Shenandoah Airship Tender USS Patoka Newport RI WWI Glass Negative OOAK
Sensational original antique gelatin silver glass plate camera negative captured in August 1924 by Boston Herald-Traveler photographer Leslie Jones, documenting the historic first naval sea-docking trials between the rigid airship USS Shenandoah (ZR-1) and the tender ship USS Patoka (AO-9) in Narragansett Bay off Newport, Rhode Island.
Preserved directly within the historic press morgue of the Boston Herald-Traveler, this rare field negative captures a milestone moment in world aviation history: the U.S. Navy's groundbreaking proof-of-concept testing of mobile, seaborne airship mooring.
The Original Morgue Sleeves & Notations:
Accompanied by the complete original two-piece newspaper darkroom filing package:
Historical & Visual Content:
In the summer of 1924, the U.S. Navy converted the fleet oiler USS Patoka (AO-9) at the Norfolk Navy Yard into a specialized lighter-than-air tender by mounting a massive 125-foot structural steel mooring mast to her stern. On August 8, 1924, she anchored in the sheltered waters of Narragansett Bay near Newport to conduct the world’s first airship-to-ship mooring tests with the Navy’s flagship rigid dirigible, the USS Shenandoah (ZR-1):
USS Shenandoah in Flight: The 680-foot zeppelin cruises overhead at low altitude, banking and nosing down toward the ship as winches and line-handling crews prepare for sea docking. The underside displays crisp silhouettes of her control car, engine gondolas, and streamlined keel.
USS Patoka (AO-9): Seen broadside in full profile riding at anchor on choppy bay waters. Prominently visible on her aft deck is the purpose-built steel lattice mooring tower and crane boom, flanked by midship rigging, bridge deck, and superstructure.
Historic Legacy: The USS Shenandoah was America’s first rigid airship and the first in the world to be inflated with non-flammable helium. Just one year after these historic Newport sea trials, the Shenandoah was tragically torn apart in a violent squall line over Noble County, Ohio, on September 3, 1925, cementing this surviving 1924 field negative as an irreplaceable artifact of early naval data-path-to-node="22">
Format: Antique silver gelatin glass plate original camera negative.
Dimensions: Standard 4 x 5 inches.
Archive Ephemera Included: Accompanied by the original outer newsroom master envelope and the vintage inscribed 1924 inner linen filing sleeve.
Please Note: This listing is for the single (1) antique physical glass plate negative and its original two filing sleeves only. Any positive photographic images shown in this listing are modern inverted digital scans provided solely as a visual reference to demonstrate how the negative prints. No physical paper photograph, modern print, or reproduction print is included.
Condition:
Very Good antique condition. The heavy glass plate is structurally sound, intact, and flat with no breaks, fractures, or chips. Gelatin silver emulsion is clean, deep, and stable throughout the sky, vessel profile, and airship framework. Authentic period newsroom handling wear is confined strictly to the extreme outer margin edges well clear of the ship and dirigible. Accompanied by both original 1924 filing sleeves.
The glass plate negative measures 4 x 5In.
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Ships with extreme care in archival materials to ensure safe transit. Feel free to reach out with any requests or questions).
Combined shipping is available (with other glass negatives)
