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Charles H. Hubbell (1898-1971) was a well-known aviation artist and native of Cleveland, Ohio. During World War I, he served
in the Navy and was a draftsman in the design of naval aircraft. He graduated from the Cleveland School of Art in 1922, and
became a commercial artist. Hubbell received his private pilots license in 1927 by exchanging aviation art with flight instructors
for flying lessons. He was commissioned by Thompson Products of Cleveland to paint the winning aircraft of each year's Thompson
Trophy Race. In 1937, the first Thompson Products aviation art calendar by Charles Hubbell was produced. He painted for the
yearly calendar until 1969. In 1949, the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) invited Hubbell on an around the world tour.
The result was the 1951 calendar featuring the aircraft and operations of MATS. Hubbell was also a consultant to the Thompson
Auto-Album and Aviation Museum, and later the Crawford Auto-Aviation Collection of the Western Reserve Historical Society.
The collection consists of views of aircraft, rockets, missiles, and drones; power plants; airfields and aviation-related
facilities; equipment, and aviation personalities. Hubbell acquired these images for use as a reference source for his aviation
artwork.
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