Percy Pilcher & "The Hawk" Glider – 1899 Fatal Flight Image – Keystone View Co. Copyright

This exceptionally rare photograph captures Percy Pilcher, one of Britain’s earliest aviation pioneers, with his experimental hang glider "The Hawk", taken during trials near Market Harborough in 1899—the very year and location of his fatal crash.

Pilcher was a central figure in the evolution of human flight, conducting bold gliding experiments in the 1890s and drawing inspiration from Otto Lilienthal. His designs represented a vital bridge between 19th-century gliders and the first successful powered aircraft. Tragically, on September 30, 1899, while demonstrating The Hawk to potential backers, Pilcher’s glider collapsed mid-flight, ending both his life and his pioneering work.

This photograph, stamped COPYRIGHT – Keystone View Co., London, shows Pilcher standing at the center of the glider’s wooden frame alongside an assistant. The scene, with its hilly terrain, is evocative of the grassy slopes used for early glider launches. The verso bears the original printed caption:

“A very rare and hitherto unpublished photograph of Mr. Percy Pilcher during his experiments near Market Harborough, with his glider ‘The Hawk’ on which he was killed Sept. 30th, 1899. O.P.S. Mr. Percy Pilcher with his glider and assistant—during his trials—Mr. Pilcher is standing in centre of his apparatus ‘The Hawk.’”

This is an extraordinary artifact of pre-Wright Brothers aviation, bridging the gap between experimental gliding and the dawn of powered flight. Perfect for serious collectors, aviation museums, or historians documenting the earliest pioneers of the air.