Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame Launches Photo Digitization Campaign

The organization is raising money to hire a professional preservation company to digitize Leo Kohn's entire aviation photography collection.

Meg Godlewski

Monday, May 13, 2024 at 01:01 PM ET

Verified

Beechcraft 35 Bonanza, Maitland Airstrip, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. October 16, 1947. [Courtesy: Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame Leo J. Kohn Photography Collection]

Key Takeaways:

The Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame (WAHF) is undertaking a project to digitize the extensive 34,000-negative aviation photography collection of the late Leo Kohn.
The goal is to preserve Kohn's significant body of work and create an online archive, searchable website, educational materials, and museum exhibits to make it accessible globally.
WAHF is actively fundraising $65,000 for this preservation effort, with approximately 33 percent already contributed.

See a mistake? Contact us.

If you have ever taken on the project of transferring photographs to digital storage, you know what an investment it can be both finances and time. The Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame (WAHF) is on a mission to digitize the Leo Kohn aviation photography collection—all 34,000 negatives stored in protective envelopes—and it can use your help.

The late Kohn, from Brookfield, Wisconsin, spent his life behind a camera and immersed in aviation. He authored several books that were filled with his photography. Among the titles still available are The Story of the Texan (American Flight Manuals), Pilot’s Handbook for Model YB-49 Airplane, and the Armchair Aviator series. If you couldn’t make it out to the airport, curling up with one of these books could be the next best thing.