Tave and Roy Wilson Collection

Title: Tave and Roy Wilson Collection

Dates: 1925-1950

Collection Number: TRW

Creator/Collector: Wilson, Octavius Arthur Wilson, Lou Royal Wilson Family

Extent: 5.0 linear feet, 3 boxes

Repository: Glendale Library, Arts and Culture. Glendale Central Library History Room

Abstract: The Tave and Roy Wilson Collection documents the aviator brothers' professional work and their leisure time recreational activities with friends and family at Tweedy Lake. Lou Royal "Roy" Wilson worked as a stunt pilot for motion pictures, while his older brother Octavius Arthur "Tave" Wilson worked as a camera pilot. They established Wilson Aero Corp. airfield after establishing a career for themselves as stunt aviators for the movies. The photograph albums primarily document their recreational activities with friends and family, but also include a number of photographs and newspaper clippings related to their professional lives.

Language of Material: English

The collection is open for research use.

Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of this collection has been transferred to Glendale Central Library. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Tave and Roy Wilson Collection. Glendale Library, Arts and Culture. Glendale Central Library History Room

Mike Rose, 2008

Three photograph albums and a small group of newspaper clippings document the aviation careers and recreational activities of brothers Octavius Arthur "Tave" and Lou Royal "Roy" Wilson. It is unclear who took the photographs or assembled the albums. The earliest album, 1925-1927 primarily depicts outdoor recreation activities at Tweedy Lake, directly north of Los Angeles and Los Padres National Forest. Photographed activities include fishing, boating, swimming, golfing, hunting, horseback riding, skiing, and archery. The vacationers stayed at a log cabin there called Canvas Back. Outside of Tweedy Lake activities, the album also includes photographs of Reflection Lake, California, and a trip to Oregon and Washington that included stops at Rogue River, Kinsey Creek, Multnomah Falls, South Umpqua River, Diamond Lake, Crater Lake, Columbia Highway, Columbia River, Seattle, and Mount Rainier. The second album, circa 1927-1932 and 1947-1950, contains outdoor recreation, Canvas Back cabin, and Camp Cornish photographs, along with photographs of dogs and horses performing tricks. This album also includes loose album pages of family photographs originally tucked into the back of the album. These photographs were taken in San Gabriel and Silverlake and depict Maas, Good, and Loyd family members.The Wilson Aero Album, circa 1928-1930, includes many aviation related locations and planes, including Grand Central Air Terminal in Glendale, Hollywood Aero Club, Wilson Aero Corporation, the Graf Zeppelin at Mines Field, Culver City Airport plane "FPS," and the Travelair 3000 used for the filming of Hell’s Angels (1930). There are also several photographs of an unidentified airplane crash. In addition to flying related photographs, the album also includes photographs of swimming and hunting activities at Tweedy Lake, dogs, and Aunt Gettie (Maas) Geiler's horse. Identified individuals in the photographs include pilot Mary Heath, Roy Wilson, Margaret Perry, Harold Maas of Ace Pharmacy, Mrs. Arthur Maas, Wally Timm, Frank Tomick, Pop Wilson, Bob Starkey, future Wilson brother-in-law George De Saulles, and Doug Shilling. The loose newspaper clippings were assembled by Glendale Public Library and document aerial stunts, including Miss Glendale Ada Lavinia Smith's parachute leap from an airplane, Roy Wilson’s plane crash into Hollywood during the filming of Hell's Angels (1930), and "Suicide Slim" Cahill's parachute jump and wing walking stunts.