First Airstream Clipper, owned by a President, resurfaces

It is rare that anyone has the opportunity to find, obtain, and restore the very first example of something as iconic as a riveted aluminum Airstream Clipper.

This is the backstory of the first Airstream Clipper ever built.

There are two versions of this history

The first is the story of this Airstream Clipper in 1936. The earliest known public mention of an Airstream Clipper appeared in the February 1936 issue of Westways magazine. That story contained a photo of an Airstream Clipper and noted it was completed on January 17, 1936. Thankfully, a high-resolution photo very similar to the one used with that story exists and can be dated to January or early February 1936, just before the publication of that magazine story.

This same Clipper later appears in a March 19, 1936, Airstream employee photo, and in several photos from the April 1936 Los Angeles Outing Show. (See image below.)

Confirmation of its history

Sometime between the January/February and March/April photos, round roof vents were added over the front windows reflecting the installation of a vent hood in the front kitchen, but matching individual rivet positions on the trailer exterior skin confirm it was the same Clipper. An interior photo of this Clipper, showing its front kitchen layout, appeared in the December 1936 issue of Popular Mechanics magazine. An internal Airstream memo, authored in November 1973 by Helen Byam Schwamborn, cousin of Airstream founder Wally Byam, provided proof that the first Airstream Clipper built was the one sold to President Cardenas of Mexico in late 1936.

Fast forward to August 2017

The start of the modern history of this trailer was when an Airstream Clipper was found near Mexico City. At the time, it was noted that this Clipper had been used by Circo Mundial (i.e., the World Circus), but nothing more was known about the history of this Clipper. Given that Airstream had advertised since late 1936 that a Clipper had been sold to the President of Mexico, there was speculation that this might be that Clipper, but there was no proof.

The Gulley Museum Collection

In August 2022, the Gulley Collection was able to purchase the “Circo Mundial” Clipper from Mexico and have it transported to the USA for restoration. It was at this time that its rivet alignment and spacing (the trailer equivalent of a fingerprint) were able to be compared to the photos of the first Clipper taken between January and April 1936, to confirm that this was the same Clipper—the first Airstream Clipper ever built! A similar comparison of the remaining interior pieces of this Clipper to the interior photo from the December 1936 Popular Mechanics magazine provided even more confirmation.

Sold to the President of Mexico

Shortly thereafter, the 1973 Airstream memo authored by Helen Byam Schwamborn (Wally Byam’s cousin) was discovered, confirming that the first Clipper was sold to the President of Mexico. Thus, the provenance of this Clipper, as both the first built and as the one sold to the President of Mexico, had been proven. All that was left to do was to meticulously restore this Clipper, preserving as many original exterior panels and interior pieces as possible (rather than replacing them) to metaphorically retain as many of Airstream founder Wally Byam’s “fingerprints” as possible.

An upscale choice for society’s elite

The Clipper was a splurge in terms of price, as Airstream wanted to give customers the very best. Marketed towards those who wanted the highest-end product, the price ranged from $1,465 to $5,200. The Clipper’s most well-known customers were political leaders and Hollywood celebrities. Other smaller travel trailer models were also introduced in the 1930s, but the Clipper’s durability stood the test of time.

This trailer was featured on the cover of the Vintage Camper Trailers magazine with an in-depth article and more photos. Click here for more info.

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