1927 Press Photo Fritz Loose Junkers Ace Waxing the Bremen 6x 3.75 For Sale

1927 Press Photo Fritz Loose Junkers Ace Waxing the Bremen 6 x 3.75Original vintage press photograph distributed by International Newsreel, stamped on verso "226 William St., New York City." Handwritten date on back reads August 15, 1927.The subject is Fritz August Loose, chief test pilot for the Junkers aircraft works in Dessau, Germany. Loose was one of the standout aviators of the golden age.In March 1927 he set two world records flying the Junkers W 33 seaplane, a payload endurance flight of 2,735 km in just over 22 hours, followed by a solo flight that kept the aircraft aloft for 14 hours across 1,700 km, more than doubling the previous American and Italian marks. Weeks after this photo was taken, Loose was photographed by International Newsreel again, this time waxing down the Junkers W 33 "Bremen" in preparation for its attempted transatlantic crossing from Ireland, a Times Herald (Washington, D.C.) clipping from March 28, 1928 names him directly as an expert pilot on the Bremen ground crew helping fight off sleet damage before the flight. The Bremen went on to complete the first successful east-to-west Atlantic crossing that April, flown by Hermann Kohl, Freiherr von Hunefeld, and James Fitzmaurice. Loose himself later traveled to the United States to fly demonstration flights at an international air parade in Chicago, documented in a Bundesarchiv press portrait from that trip.This print sits right at the front edge of that story, a working Junkers test pilot photographed by wire service cameras just as Germany's push for transatlantic aviation glory was heating up, months before the world was watching the Bremen cross the ocean.Identification note: this attribution is built on two independent sources rather than the handwriting alone. First, a Bundesarchiv portrait of Loose (Bild 102-10266) matches this photo's pose, flying helmet, goggles, and fur-collar jacket. Second, the Times Herald clipping above, credited to the same International Newsreel wire service stamped on this photo's verso, names him outright in a matching press photo from the same general period. The handwritten name on this print's own verso does not clearly spell out "Fritz Loose," it reads closer to "Frederick Garivan" or a similar variant, and that discrepancy has not been resolved. It may reflect a captioning error at the photo agency, a mishearing of the name at the time, or something else not yet established. The identification is offered as well-supported by outside sources, with this specific discrepancy disclosed rather than hidden.
CONDITIONVintage press photo showing age-appropriate wear. The verso shows notable toning, staining, and a torn/worn area affecting some of the period handwriting and printed wire service stamp, consistent with decades of handling and archival storage. The front image remains clear, sharp, and well-defined with strong contrast. Please review all photos closely, sold as-is.MEASUREMENTS6 x 3.75 inches