Balloons – copper engraving from the “Bilderbuch zum Nutzen und Vergnügen der Jugend / Porte-feuille instructif et amusant pour la jeunesse“ edited by Friedrich Justin Bertuch, printed in Vienna by Anton Pichler in 1802. Coloured by a later hand. Size: (platemark) 23 x 17,5 cm.
In his encyclopedia full of interesting facts for the youth, Bertuch describes the “Luftschifferey / Aeronautique” depicted here as follows:
“Nothing has perhaps ever more aroused the admiration of people, and at the same time the desire for imitation, than the flight of birds. Already in ancient times, various legends tell us, attempts were made to rise from the ground and hover in a lighter element at will using artificial wings attached to arms and feet. However, all attempts were too small and therefore ended unsuccessfully. It was necessary to invent a machine whose weight, combined with the attached human body, would be lighter than the surrounding atmospheric air, which would thus be lighter and fly into the air. The first successful attempts of this kind were made in France in 1782 by the Montgolfier brothers. They took a large hollow machine made of taffeta in the shape of a sphere, thinned the air with burning paper and straw, and thus the sphere indeed rose by itself. Montgolfier then enlarged his taffeta sphere (Fig. 1), surrounded it with a ring in the middle of which was the firebox (a), and on November 21, 1783, Pilâtre de Rozier made the first major air journey with it. This type of balloon, lifted by heated air, was named Montgolfiere by its inventor.
The second type, or the aerostat (Fig. 2), was also invented in 1783 by Jacques Charles, a professor of physics in Paris. He filled a taffeta sphere with a diameter of 26 feet using a device (b) with flammable light air, which was developed in barrels from iron filings and sulfuric acid, and then directed into the balloon through a large tube. A small boat was attached with silk cords and thus the inventor successfully ascended with it. To lower the balloon, a valve is opened on the side, gradually letting the heavier atmospheric air in. With the Montgolfiere, this is achieved by letting the fire gradually die down.
Should the balloon crash in the air, the aeronaut can save himself with the parachute (Fig. 3) invented by Jean-Pierre Blanchard, a famous balloonist. It consists of a strong, sturdy fabric stretched hollow over several hoops. The aeronaut sits in several straps attached with ropes to the upper part. The air caught under this large umbrella prevents the parachute from falling quickly and makes it descend only gradually.”
Price Euro 350,-
