These two photographs show aviator Weldon B. Cooke in his flying boats, also called hydroplanes. Both photographs measure 5.5" x 3.5" (13.97 x 8.89 cm). Cooke began his career in Oakland, California but later traveled to Sandusky, Ohio to build airplanes. He was famous for building hydroplanes and flying boats, including the Irene, which quickly gained local fame. Cooke also was created a plane that could be easily torn down and reassembled. In the early twentieth century planes were typically shipped between cities that aeronautic exhibitions were given, since planes that could fly long distances were rare.

In 1912, Cooke founded the Weldon B. Cooke Aeroplane Company in Sandusky, Ohio. Along with fellow aviator Harry Atwood, Cooke planned a passenger service between Put-in-Bay, Cedar Point, and Sandusky, Ohio in the summer of 1913. Cooke died in 1914 after fainting in an aircraft during an exhibition in Colorado.