Background and Scope of the Images
The Tissandier Collection offers 420 images documenting
the early history of aeronautics with an emphasis on balloon
flight in France and other European countries. Subjects include
general and technical images of balloons, airships, and flying
machines; portraits of famous balloonists; views of numerous
ascensions, accidents, and world’s fairs; cartoons featuring
balloon themes; pictorial and textual broadsides; and colorful
ephemera and poster advertisements. There are also several hundred
illustrations clipped from books and newspapers. The pictures,
created by many different artists, span the years 1773 to 1910,
with the bulk dating 1780-1890.
The Tissandier brothers, Gaston and Albert, assembled
the pictures from various sources. Gaston Tissandier (1843-1899)
was a balloonist and science writer. Albert (1839-1906) was
a balloonist and illustrator.
The Tissandier Brothers’ Aeronautical Work
The collection is rich in images of flights the
Tissandier brothers participated in as well as flights they
observed between 1865 and 1885. For example, Gaston Tissandier
flew over enemy lines during the Siege of Paris in 1870, and
Albert made drawings of several balloons that were used to carry
passengers and supplies over enemy lines. While Gaston tested
the limits of balloon ascension, Albert made drawings of natural
phenomena in the upper atmosphere. As a team, the brothers developed
a design for an electric powered airship in 1885.
[Gaston Tissandier, French balloonis...] Drawing, 1886.
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Voyages aèriens de M.M. Albert et Gaston Tissandier. Drawing
by Albert Tissandier, 1870-1880
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History of Balloon Flight and Early Balloonists
Historical prints document the first balloon ascensions
in 1783, which demonstrated the feasability of lighter-than-air
craft. Approximately 87 portrait prints depict aeronauts who
promoted ballooning through public events (Vincent Lunardi,
Jean Pierre Blanchard, and Marie-Madeleine-Sophie Armand Blanchard)
or scientists and inventors who developed the technology (Joseph-Michel
Montgolfier, Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier and Nicholas Conte).
Exp[é]rience a[ë]rostatique faite Versailles le 19 sept.
1783. Etching, 1783.
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M.S. Blanchard, celebre aeronauta,.... Lithograph, 1811.
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Balloon Ascensions for the Public
By the late 1870s, captive balloons enabled the
public to share the experience of flight by riding in the basket
of a balloon tethered to the ground. In addition to posters
and text broadsides announcing these events, the actual tickets
used to board are included in the pictorial ephemera.
Grand ballon captif a vapeur de Mr. Henry Giffard... Wood
engraving, 1879
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Panorama de Paris ... Lithograph, 1878.
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Airship Designs
The challenge of powering a balloon led to the
development of the airship, a generic term used for dirigibles,
blimps and zeppelins. The collection contains approximately
30 design drawings for balloons with navigation devices such
as sails and oars. A number of these drawings were submitted
for patents. Also included are designs for flying machines and
other examples of heavier-than-air craft.
Flugmaschine. Erfunden von Jacob Degen ... Engraving,
ca. 1810.
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Navire aérien, le poisson volant ... Lithograph by Camille
Vert, 1859?
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Humorous Images with Balloons
The collection includes numerous cartoons, caricatures,
comic stories, and humorous drawings that illustrate the incorporation
of balloon imagery into a wide variety of situations.
I volatori. Les messieurs qui volent. Lithograph, 1880.
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Voyage a la lune. Lithograph, 1865-1870.
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(Click the images to see larger versions
- the same size as on the CD)
