Alaska Airlines Origins McGee Airways Stinsons 1930s Vintage Photo Bush Plane For Sale

Alaska Airlines Origins McGee Airways
Stinsons 1930s Vintage Photo Bush Plane
Mac McGee\'s Stinson Fleet ... Sold for $50,000, 1934DESCRIPTIONThis vintage black and white photograph shows three aircraft lined up in front of a large gabled hangar at a frontier airfield in Alaska. The outer two carry McGee Airways in white block letters on dark fuselages with white speed stripes sweeping back, and the one at left wears a cowled radial engine and an emblem on its tail.Between them sits a larger high-wing cabin monoplane with a light colored tail carrying its NC registration, its engine and propeller wrapped against the weather and a person standing at its wing strut. Behind the hangar a cupola, windsock and tall striped pole rise against the sky, with a mountain ridge showing at the right edge. The photograph is believed to date from about 1932 to 1934, the years the company flew under the McGee name. The reverse carries the handwritten name Moffitt in blue ink, a clue for anyone who wants to dig further.Alaska Airlines traces its beginnings to McGee Airways, founded in Anchorage in 1932 by Linious \"Mac\" McGee, an Indiana native who stowed away aboard a steamship to Alaska in 1929 and worked as a miner, truck driver and fur buyer before turning to the air. In 1931 he and pilot Harvey Barnhill bought a used Stinson from Varney in San Francisco for $5,000, shipped it north by steamship, reassembled it on the beach at Valdez and flew it to Anchorage to reach fur-trading villages. By 1932 McGee had bought out his partner, hired pilots such as Oscar Winchell to fly passengers, freight and mail in his black and silver Stinsons, and built a fleet of seven. McGee is credited with pioneering a fleet of near identical aircraft so that parts could be interchanged, a smart move in a territory where the nearest parts counter was a steamship ride away.In 1934 McGee sold the airline and its seven Stinsons to rival Star Air Service for $50,000, creating the largest air operation in Alaska at the time. Star Air Service became Star Air Lines in 1937 and Alaska Star Airlines in 1942, and by 1944 it was Alaska Airlines. That makes this line-up one of the earliest chapters in the story of today\'s carrier, photographed while the name McGee was still painted on the fuselage.Images were scanned at 600 dpi so you can inspect every detail before you buy.Every effort is made for fact checking and provenance, including background research through news and historical archives. If any listing is incorrect in any way and you are unsatisfied with the item, please connect with me and I will make it right. Orders placed before Noon CDT ship the same day via USPS Ground Advantage with tracking so you know exactly when it will arrive. Returns are accepted on all items over $25. Every shipment goes out in rigid, professional packaging, sealed and protected in acid free protectors. Shipping is free and already built into the price, so the BIN price is exactly what you pay, no surprise shipping costs at checkout.CONDITIONVintage sepia-toned print in used condition, soft in focus as made. The front shows a network of creases and handling lines through the sky and border, scattered dark specks and small spots, light edge wear and uneven tone, but the three aircraft, the hangar and the white McGee Airways lettering remain clearly readable. The reverse is the weaker side: a large amber adhesive stain with paper residue covers the center of the back, tape or adhesive remnants sit at all four corners, and there is creasing throughout. The handwritten name Moffitt appears in blue ink at the upper right. This print is offered as a historical document, not a flawless collectible, so please study all of the 600 dpi scans, which are part of the condition report.