The Donald A. Hall Collection
The Collection is not the destination. It is the launchpad.
Original photographs, engineering records, correspondence, designs, negatives, art, books, and years of interpretation give Flying Over Time something rare: a public story with evidence underneath it.
Editorial principle
Evidence before eloquence.
A compelling story is only as durable as its source trail. Flying Over Time connects public interpretation to identified records, distinguishes fact from inference and open research, preserves credits and restrictions, and maintains a correction path.
That discipline lets one collection serve many forms: a student lesson, a restored article, an exhibition, a press request, a book, a film conversation, or the spark that helps someone imagine a STEAM career.
Explore
One collection. Five ways in.
Begin with a person, a story, a publication, a research question, or the Estate gallery.
Curated reading room
Stories from the record
Eight promoted first-person and institutional records introduce the discovery, Collection stewardship, exhibitions, and artistic interpretation.
The engineer
Donald A. Hall Sr. Biography
The life and career of the engineer who designed the Spirit of St. Louis, from his early training to his later aircraft and helicopter work.
Publication
Spirit & Creator
Nova Hall’s book carries the family-held photographs and documentary record into a narrative about Donald Hall and the Spirit of St. Louis.
Press and production
Work with the evidence
Request interviews, approved assets, source material, credits, rights information, and production conversations.
The Estate
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
Explore photographs, engineering drawings, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and personal records from the Donald A. Hall Estate Collection, tracing the engineer’s life and the creation of the Spirit of St. Louis.
From evidence to interpretation
The engineering record has texture.
A family discovery, a technical drawing, and a finished aircraft each reveal a different part of the work.
Collection stewardship
Three promises behind every public use.
- 1
Preserve
Stabilize, inventory, scan at archival quality, and protect custody and backups.
- 2
Verify
Identify people, places, dates, rights, credits, uncertainty, and source trails before interpretation.
- 3
Share responsibly
Create useful web, press, exhibition, and education editions while preserving permissions, corrections, and reuse records.
Keep the evidence useful