Matthijs Verkuyl Collectibles and Curiosities

DC-3, Dakota aircraft reduced model scale model. Handcrafted in aluminium foil, with engraved metal rivets, 1936. .

Bar Boeing 747 made with half of a Boeing 747 air intake, in shiny polished aluminium finish, riveted aluminium. With a round glass top and with one black ...

Carved woo half model of the 1885 America's Cup Yacht Puritan. The hull is painted white above the waterline and green below. There is a planked wood. mahogany deck, hatched, skyligh...

Large French chrome desktop model of Douglas DC3 A super piece and a great desk ornament for the desk that has everything else This model was displayed b...

Art Deco / midcentury large DC3 desk aviation model. Pan-Am wooden airplane model. It was in an office of the company in South America. Very good restored conditions. Slight age wear. History Pan American Airways began the first transatlantic passenger service on this day in 1939. Pan American World Airways, as it was to be known, commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal United States international air carrier from the late 1920s until its collapse on December 4, 1991. Founded in 1927 as a scheduled air mail and passenger service operating between Key West, Florida, and Havana, Cuba, the airline became a major company credited with many innovations that shaped the international airline industry, including the widespread use of jet aircraft, jumbo jets, and computerized reservation systems. The history of Pan American Airways is inextricably linked to the expansive vision and singular effort of one man – Juan Trippe. An avid flying enthusiast and pilot, Trippe, only 28 years old when he founded the airline, lined up wealthy investors and powerful government officials from his personal acquaintances in the high-society of the 1920s. However, Pan Am’s first flight was an inauspicious start to its epic saga. In 1927, facing a Post Office deadline for the commencement of mail carriage, Pan Am had no working equipment for its sole airmail contract between Key West and Havana. Fortunately for Pan Am, a pilot with his Fairchild seaplane arrived at Key West and was willing to carry the mail to Cuba for the start up operation. It is fitting that Pan Am’s first flight would be over water, since the airline would Pioneer overseas routes throughout its history. Pan Am’s fortunes took a turn for the better in the fall of 1927. Through the heavy lobbying efforts of Juan Trippe, Pan Am was selected by the United States government to be its “chosen instrument” for overseas operations. Pan Am would enjoy a near monopoly on international routes. Added to Pan Am’s Cuba route were lines serving Mexico, Central America, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Puerto Rico. Most of these destinations were port cities, which could be reached only by landing on water. Therefore Pan Am made good use of its “flying boats,” the Sikorsky S-38 and S-40. Flights were eventually expanded to serve much of South America as well. EnlargePan Am’s fleet of Clippers allowed the airline to conquer the Pacific in the mid-1930s. The flying boats would later be put to military use in WWII. Just a few years later, Pan Am launched its effort to cross the world’s largest oceans. Survey flights across the Pacific were conducted with the Sikorsky S-42 in 1935, but passenger service required bigger and better aircraft. Accompanied by much fanfare, the Martin M-130 was introduced in 1936, followed by the Boeing 314...

Scale model made in the 1950s of a 15th-century Spanish galleon. Planked hull, 3 masts with sails and 23 guns. Measurements 56x10x42.5 inche 22x3.9x16.8 cm The Galleon was a mighty w...

Vintage American Airlines Dc-3 old Chrome desk model airplane. Introduced in 1936, the Douglas DC-3 was the first airliner able to undertake ...

A very cool Martin Airlines Holland Boeing 747 jumbo jetliner airplane contractor desk model, circa 1980s. The model measures 9.5" wingspan x 11"D x 5"H and sits on a nice marked st...

This charming model airplane came from the personal collection of Thierry Despont (1948 - 2023), perhaps best known for his architectural practice—which played integral roles in the ...

A vintage sleek Boeing 727 airplane model in flight, mounted atop a sturdy base, serves as a stylish desk accessory or paperweight. Its dynamic design captures the essence of aviatio...

A very cool KLM Dutch Airlines Boeing 747-400 jumbo jetliner airplane contractor desk model, circa 1980s. The model measures 10" wingspan x 10.5"D x 5.75"H and sits on a nice marked...

Meticulously hand-built at 1:20 scale, this late 20th century American cedar frame model captures the elegant engineering of the historic Fallasburg covered bridge in Lowell, Michiga...