It turns out that the drawings/watercolors were the work of one Charles August Albert Dellschau (1830 - 1923). Dellschau was a butcher for most of his life and only after his retirement in 1899 did he begin his incredible career as a self-taught artist. He began with three books entitled Recollections which purported to describe a secret organization called the Sonora Aero Club. Dellschau described his duties in the club as that of the draftsman. Within his collaged watercolors were newspaper clippings (he called them “press blooms”) of early attempts at flight overlapped with his own fantastic drawings of airships of all kind. Powered by a secret formula he cryptically referred to as “NB Gas” or “Suppa” — the “aeros” (as Dellscahu called them) were steampunk like contraptions with multiple propellers, wheels, viewing decks and secret compartments. Though highly personal, autobiographical (perhaps!), and idiosyncratic, these artworks could cross-pollinate with the fiction of Jules Verne, Willy Wonka and the Wizard of Oz. The works were completed in a furiously creative period from 1899 to 1923, when air travel was still looked at by most people as almost magical. Newspapers of that period were full of stories about air travel feats and the acrobatic aerial dogfights of WWI were legend.
Researchers have found no account of a Sonora Aero Club, not in Texas or California. So was this simply a fantasy-fueled creative exercise by a retired man smitten with the wonders of flight? There were numerous accounts of pre-20th century UFOs in the Houston area — so perhaps Mr. Dellschau had witnessed something that ignited his simmering creative soul? The best we can do is speculate on the mystery and be thankful for the Houston junk dealer who saved a piece of art history.
All works are watercolor, pencil and collage on paper, approx. 17 x 18 inches, Images are from various public and private collections, supplied by Stephen Romano, Brooklyn, NY. A book on the images is forthcoming at the end of March from Marquand Books/D.A.P.
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.01_525.jpg)
Courtesy Stephen Romano, Brooklyn
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.02_525.jpg)
Courtesy Stephen Romano, Brooklyn
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.03_525.jpg)
Courtesy Stephen Romano, Brooklyn
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.04_525.jpg)
Courtesy Stephen Romano, Brooklyn
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.05_525.jpg)
Courtesy Stephen Romano, Brooklyn
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.06_525.jpg)
Collection of Stephanie Smither, Texas
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.07_525.jpg)
Collection of George Morton and Karol Howard, Texas
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.08_525.jpg)
Detail of Dellschau code, Courtesy the Witte Museum, San Antonio
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.09_525.jpg)
Collection of George Morton and Karol Howard, Texas
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.10_525.jpg)
Collection of Michael Burke, New York
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.11_525.jpg)
Courtesy Stephen Romano, Brooklyn
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.12_525.jpg)
Courtesy the Witte Museum, San Antonio
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.13_525.jpg)
Collection of Dr. Siri Von Reis New York
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.14_525.jpg)
Courtesy Stephen Romano, Brooklyn
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.15_525.jpg)
Courtesy Stephen Romano, Brooklyn
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.16_525.jpg)
Courtesy Stephen Romano, Brooklyn
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.17_525.jpg)
Courtesy Stephen Romano, Brooklyn
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.18_525.jpg)
Courtesy Stephen Romano, Brooklyn
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.19_525.jpg)
Courtesy Stephen Romano, Brooklyn
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.20_525.jpg)
Courtesy Stephen Romano, Brooklyn
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.21_525.jpg)
Courtesy Stephen Romano, Brooklyn
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.22_525.jpg)
Collection of J. Kevin O'Rourke, Maryland
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.23_525.jpg)
Private Collection, USA
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.24_525.jpg)
Courtesy Stephen Romano, Brooklyn
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.25_525.jpg)
Collection of Thomas Isenberg, New York
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.26_525.jpg)
Detail of Dellschau code, Courtesy of Witte Museum, Texas
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.27_525.jpg)
Collection of Carole Kraus, New York
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.28_525.jpg)
Collection of J. Kevin O'Rourke, Maryland
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.29_525.jpg)
Collection of Flora and Adam Hanft, New York
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.30_525.jpg)
Collection of Thomas Isenberg, New York
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.31_525.jpg)
Courtesy Stephen Romano, Brooklyn
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.32_525.jpg)
Courtesy Stephen Romano, Brooklyn
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.33_525.jpg)
Page from Dellschau personal diary, Private Collection, Texas
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.34_525.jpg)
Page from Dellschau personal diary, Private Collection, Texas
![Sonora Aero Club](/media/images/03.17.13.35_525.jpg)
Page from Dellschau personal diary, Private Collection, Texas
Comments [3]
03.17.13
08:36
03.21.13
08:43
So glad you wrote it. As a fortunate Dellschau collector, I find myself drawn to him on many levels and can sit in wonder and amazement near his work daily, pondering his life and mystery, trying to decipher the elements of his art and the mind of this true genius.
I believe Dellschau will eventually become the artist of legends and could easily, once widely discovered, become the quintessential visionary artist, surpassing many of the currently sought after artists of today.
Thanks for the article.
04.07.13
11:04