Samuel Cody in a biplane, c 1910.

A snapshot photograph of Samuel Cody (1861-1913) piloting an early biplane, taken by an unknown photographer in about 1910. Cody was an American cowboy who had toured with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. He was also an early aviator, experimenting with flying kites large enough to carry a man.  His work led him to experiment with gliders and powered flight. During September and October 1908 he made a number of short flights - the first officially recorded powered flights. He went on to set an number of early aviation records. Sadly, Cody was killed in a crash in 1913. From the Kodak at the National Science & Media Museum. This collection of photographs, equipment and printed material tracing the history of photography, was assembled by Kodak Limited and acquired from them in the mid-1980s. As well as approximately 200,000 photographs, the Collection includes nearly 10,000 items of photographic and cinematic equipment as well as books and printed ephemera. The Collection is especially strong in the area of popular photography. It includes examples of most of the products made by Kodak Limited and thousands of snapshots, dating back to the 1880s. It also contains work by known photographers such as Frank Meadow Sutcliffe and Paul Martin.