1923 Press Photo – Louis Clerget and Early Danilot Monoplane with Clerget Engine, Calais

Original 1923 French press photograph showing engine builder Monsieur Louis Clerget overseeing preparation of an early monoplane equipped with a Clerget rotary engine. The event took place in Calais, France. The aircraft is identified on the verso as belonging to aviator Danilot, whose surname appears in the handwritten inscription.

Verso notes (translated from French):

"Calais – Monsieur Clerget, manufacturer of the Clerget engine, beside the aircraft of aviator Danilot."

Visible in the image are multiple figures, including:

• A mechanic hand-starting the engine by rotating the propeller

• Spectators and officials dressed in period attire (bowler hats, suits)

• The aircraft propped on wooden chocks, prepared for testing or demonstration

The photograph bears the archival stamp of Agence Rol (Paris) and has dated press stamps indicating June 2–9, 1923.

Louis Clerget was a prominent French engineer best known for his development of Clerget rotary engines, widely used in World War I aircraft. This image captures a rare postwar application of his engineering work in civil aviation or aviation exhibitions.

This item is a valuable primary visual document of early French monoplane development and postwar aviation culture, highlighting the transitional phase between wartime engineering and peacetime innovation.