Historic Balloon Experiments

19th-century engravings of experimental balloon designs and uses, showcasing innovations in air travel and scientific exploration.

Balloon steering project by Tessiore in 1845 pulled by a tame vulture, France. Old 19th century engraving from La Nature 1887

Engraving depicting one of nine balloons constructed by Green for the 1850 Franklin search expedition. Dated 19th Century

Balloon steering project by Tessiore in 1845 pulled by a tame vulture, France. Old 19th century engraving from La Nature 1887

The Giant (le Geant) balloon, built in 1863 for Felix Nadar. Woodblock engraving from Louis Figuier's "Les Merveilles de la Science: Aerostats" (Marvels of Science: Air Balloons), Furne, Jouvet et Cie, Paris, 1868.

Balloon with dropping device, by Marie Madeleine Sophie Armant, 25 March 1778, 6 July 1819, the first professional balloonist, historical, digital reproduction of an original from the 19th century

The quarterdeck and boat, plans for a hot air balloon expedition to the North Pole, illustration from Il Secolo Illustrato della Domenica, Year II, No 59, November 16, 1890.

Balloon stowed in the air, vintage engraving. Balloon stowed in the air, vintage engraved illustration. Magasin Pittoresque 1870. Copyright: xZoonar.com/PatrickxGuenettex 10679183

parachute invented by the French physicist Lenormand. Louis-Sebastien Lenormand (May 25, 1757 - April 4, 1837) was a French chemist, physicist, inventor, and a pioneer in parachuting

Fishing at couffe, vintage engraved illustration. Magasin Pittoresque 1876.

Jacques Deghen, a clockmaker from Vienna, and his balloon with hand-powered wings for direction, circa 1808. Woodblock engraving by Mes from Louis Figuier's "Les Merveilles de la Science: Aerostats" (Marvels of Science: Air Balloons), Furne, Jouvet et Cie, Paris, 1868.

Paying-out machinery and pulley of Giffard's captive hydrogen balloon, Paris 1867. The public could pay to make an ascent in the balloon and get an aerial view of Paris. Illustration published Paris circa 1870

$Engraving depicting a 23-inch refractor built by Alvan Clark (1804-1887) an American astronomer and telescope maker. Dated 19th Century$

Balloon Ascent of the French Aeronaut Francois Blanchard Albert Tissandier (1836-1906 French) Wood engraving

Image of the flying machine invented by Jacob Degen (watchmaker in Vienna). Explanation under 'Art. Invention a flying machine ', on page 10 to 13. Print from the fashion magazine Elegantia, or Magazine of fashion, luxury and taste for women 1807-1814 (interrupted by the period 1811-1813).

The Great Melbourne Telescope on a temporary mounting in Ireland before being shipped out to Australia. Built by Grubbs of Dublin this instrument, a Cassegrain reflector, had a 48 inch (122 cm) speculum metal mirror and was fully steerable. Part of the tube was built in lattice form to reduce weight. From 'The Illustrated London News' (London, 14 November 1868).

Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac and Jean-Baptiste Biot performing physics experiments in a balloon at 4,000 meters altitude, 1804. Woodblock engraving by E. Deschamps after Mes from Louis Figuier's "Les Merveilles de la Science: Aerostats" (Marvels of Science: Air Balloons), Furne, Jouvet et Cie, Paris, 1868.

Time-Ball in New York, vintage engraved illustration. Magasin Pittoresque 1880.

Balloon by Charles Green, 31 January 1785, 26 March 1870, an English aeronaut, Historical, digital reproduction of an original from the 19th century

Salt Production from Saline Soil, Urua (now Democratic Republic of Congo), Africa, Illustration, 1885

An artist's impression of the Benjamin Franklin's (1706-1790) investigation of the electrical nature of lightning in September 1752. Franklin and his assistant are flying a kite in a thunderstorm and Franklin are drawing a spark off the kite string. Dated 19th century

Balloon of Charles Green, January 31, 1785 - March 26, 1870, an English aeronautician / Ballon von Charles Green, 31. Januar 1785 - 26. März 1870, ein englischer Aeronautiker, Historisch, historical, digital improved reproduction of an original from the 19th century / digitale Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19. Jahrhundert,.

Pierre Testu-Brissy's manned balloon, built in 1785. Testu-Brissy went on to make over 50 flights on horseback in the carriage. Woodblock engraving from Louis Figuier's "Les Merveilles de la Science: Aerostats" (Marvels of Science: Air Balloons), Furne, Jouvet et Cie, Paris, 1868.

Aerial photography with a kite in the late 19th century. Old 19th century engraved illustration from La Nature 1889

Engraving depicting a demonstration of how the flattening of the earth's poles is due to centrifugal force. Dated 19th Century

Henry Giffard's steam-powered dirigible balloon, 1852. Woodblock engraving by Marchand after L. Guiguet from Louis Figuier's "Les Merveilles de la Science: Aerostats" (Marvels of Science: Air Balloons), Furne, Jouvet et Cie, Paris, 1868.

France, Paris. Preparations for the first ascent of the Captive Balloon in the Tuileries Garden, verified on July 18, 1878, during the Paris Universal Exhibition. Engraving by Capuz. La Ilustración Española y Americana, 1878. Author: Tomás Carlos Capuz (1834-1899). Spanish engraver.

First Mongolfier balloon destined to carry passengers, made for Pilatre de Rozier, 1783. Woodblock engraving from Louis Figuier's "Les Merveilles de la Science: Aerostats" (Marvels of Science: Air Balloons), Furne, Jouvet et Cie, Paris, 1868.

Engraving depicting Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau's ascent from Dijon. Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau (1737-1816) a French chemist and politician. Dated 18th Century

Illustration showing The clock in the tower of St. Ann's Church, Limehouse 1842

Dirigible aerostat toy assembled in a tivivo. Old illustration from La Nature 1887

Engraving depicting André-Jacques Garnerin making his first parachute descent. André-Jacques Garnerin (1769-1823) a French balloonist and inventor of the frameless parachute. Dated 18th Century

Die Luftfahrt: Der von Dupuy de Lome 1872 entwickelte schiffbare Ballon, Aviation, digital restaurierte Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19....

$Refracting telescope without a tube, designed by Christiaan Huyghens c1650. From an edition of his 'Opera Varia', 1724. Engraving$

Engraving depicting Francesco Lana de Terzi's flying boat concept. Francesco Lana de Terzi (1631-1687) an Italian Jesuit priest, mathematician, naturalist and aeronautics pioneer. Dated 19th century

Balloon by Baptiste Henri Jacques Giffard, 8 January 1825, April 1882, a French engineer and aviation pioneer, Historical, digital reproduction of an original from the 19th century

Parachute successfully demonstrated by SEBASTIEN LENORMAND, who jumped successfully from the tower of the Observatory at Montpellier, France Date: December 1783

Henri Giffard's (1825-1882) steam-powered steerable (dirigible) airship during its ascent of 25 September 1852: cigar shaped gasbag. From Louis Figuier 'Les Merveilles de la Science' (Paris, c1870).

Early hot air balloon flight. This balloon Le Flesselles ascended over Lyon France on 1 January 1784 carrying seven passengers which included the French balloonists Joseph Montgolfier (1740 1810) and Jean Francois Pilatre de Rozier. Engraving by A. de L. "Les Merveilles de la Science", 1868.

Astronomy, The Great Equatoreal, Telescope, of the Vienna Observatory, Vienna, Austria, 1890 / Astronomie, Das große Äquatoreal, Fernrohr, der Wiener Sternwarte, Wien, Österreich, 1890, Historisch, historical, digital improved reproduction of an original from the 19th century / digitale Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19. Jahrhundert,.

Balloon of Baptiste Henri Jacques Giffard, January 8, 1825 - April 1882, a French engineer and aviation pioneer / Ballon von Baptiste Henri Jacques Giffard, 8. Januar 1825 - April 1882, ein französischer Ingenieur und Luftfahrtpionier, Historisch, historical, digital improved reproduction of an original from the 19th century / digitale Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19. Jahrhundert,.

Using a plane table and hinged staff to measure the height of a tower. From Robert Fludd 'Utriusque cosmi ... historia', Oppenheim, 1617-1619. Engraving.

A current generator or current motor on a river, for the water supply of villages on hills, an invention of the company Anton Kunz, Maehr, Weisskirchen, Germany, industrial product from 1880, Historic, digitally restored reproduction of an original template from the 19th century, exact original date unknown, Europe

The 'underwater explorer' of de Collange and Jobard solves the problem of air supply, but at the cost of manoeuvrability - the air pipe would need to be flexible and extensible. Date: 1855

Flamsteed's equatorially mounted sextant fitted with telescope. View from telescope side. On right of picture is the top of exterior of the Octagon Room at Flamsteed House, Greenwich, built on the orders of Charles II (1630-1685) which became the first Royal Observatory. Flamsteed became the first Astronomer Royal. From 'Historia Coelestis Britannica' by John Flamsteed (London, 1725). Engraving.

Equatorially mounted telescope at the Paris observatory, France, illustration from L'Illustration, Journal Universel, No 1166, Volume XLVI, July 1, 1865.

Fauste Veranziio making a successful jump from a tower in Venice using the parachute he had built and which he named Homo Volans, 1617. From Histoire des Ballons by Gaston Tissandier, Paris, 1887. Aviation Flying

The flying machine of Thomas Moy. Watercolour.

Engraving depicting the formation of the rainbow by dispersion and total internal reflection. Dated 18th Century

ARAGON IMPERIAL CHANNEL-PLANS OF CLEANING MACHINES.

Fauste Veranziio making a successful jump from a tower in Venice using the parachute he had built and which he named 'Homo Volans', 1617. From 'Histoire des Ballons' by Gaston Tissandier, Paris, 1887. Aviation Flying

PROPOSED METHOD OF REACHING THE NORTH POLE BY BALLOONS

The experiment of the electric kite conducted by Romas, June 7, 1753, in the alleys of the city of N_rac

Robert brothers helping JAC Charles (1746-1823) to inflate balloon with hydrogen produced by covering barrel of iron filings with sulphuric acid. On 1 December 1783 Charles and one of brothers made first ascent in hydrogen balloon. Engraving c1807.

Austrian ministers demanding that Colonel Jean Marie-Joseph Coutelle descend from his balloon during the siege of Mainz, 1793. Woodblock engraving by Mes from Louis Figuier's "Les Merveilles de la Science: Aerostats" (Marvels of Science: Air Balloons), Furne, Jouvet et Cie, Paris, 1868.

FLYING MACHINE EXPERIMENT BY BLANCHARD AT FIELD OF MARS, PARIS.2 / 3 / 1784.BALLOON. Location: PRIVATE COLLECTION. MADRID. SPAIN.

Giant burning glass of the Academie des Sciences, used for chemical experiments, and constructed under the direction of Lavoisier (1743-1794) and others. From Amedee Guillemin 'Les Applications de la Physique', Paris 1874. Engraving

Inflating a hydrogen balloon, 1845. Artist: Unknown

Illustration depicting a wireless telegraph station at Dresden, which received signals from Oberschöneweide, near Berlin, and transmitted them to Karskrona in Sweden and Poldhu in Cornwall. Dated 20th century

The Eddystone lighthouse built on the Stone 13 miles South-east of Polperro, Cornwall, England. This is the fifth Eddystone lighthouse, designed by James Douglas, engineer to Trinity House, built between 1878 and 1892. Inside the lantern showing two drums of bull's-eye lenses. Each drum was 6 ft (1.828 metres) high. The keeper is winding up the revolving mechanism. Engraving from The Strand Magazine (London, 1892).

Print depicting Edward VII (1841-1910) watching the loading of the cables used in the Atlantic Telegraph. The transatlantic telegraph cable was an undersea cable running under the Atlantic Ocean used for telegraph communications. Transatlantic telegraph cables have since been replaced by transatlantic telecommunications cables. Dated 19th century

Engraving depicting two types of hot-air balloons. Left: Hydrogen Balloon, the bottom quarter of the picture shows the method of filling the balloon with hydrogen produced by filling barrels with iron filings and sulphuric acid. Right: a Montgolfier hot-air balloon. Dated 19th century

'THE WAR OF THE WORLDS' A Martian fighting-machine is destroyed by a hit from a shell Date: First published: 1898

Engraving depicting Henry Tracey Coxwell's design for balloons to be used for Arctic exploration. Henry Tracey Coxwell (1819-1900) an English aeronaut. Dated 19th Century

Engraving depicting an anemometer, an instrument used for measuring the speed of the wind, or any current of gas. Dated 19th century

Engraving depicting a man having difficulties during a balloon flight. Dated 19th century

$Engraving depicting the Craig telescope, a large telescope built in the 1850s, and while much larger than previous refracting telescopes. Dated 19th Century$

Nautilus Diving Chamber, vintage engraved illustration. Trousset encyclopedia (1886 - 1891).

Anemometer of the weather observation station on the Säntis, Alps, Switzerland, 1882 / Windmesser der Wetterbeobachtungsstation auf dem Säntis, Alpen, Schweiz, 1882, Historisch, historical, digital improved reproduction of an original from the 19th century / digitale Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19. Jahrhundert.

Engraving depicting a man, at Kew Observatory, taking a photographic record of cloud formations. Dated 19th Century

An engraving depicting the Meteorological Observatory at Saint-Marie-du-Mont, Mache, France. In the foreground is an anemometer with Robinson's cups. Dated 19th century

Engraving depicting the Crossley telescope, a 36-inch (910 mm) reflecting telescope located at Lick Observatory, California, given to the observatory in 1895 by British politician Edward Crossley. Dated 20th Century

Engraving depicting the transit of Venus over London, shown in a large celestial landscape. Dated 18th century

$Astronomy: a large refracting telescope, in use outdoors. Lithograph by W. Eldridge, 183-.$

Jacob Degen's flying machine, 1808, (1932). Creator: Unknown.

Hevelius's 150-ft (16.240m) telescope being erected at Gdansk. From 'Selenographia' by Johannes Hevelius (Gedani, Gdansk, Danzig, 1647). Engraving.

Engraving depicting Camille Vert's 'Flying Fish' balloon, powered by a small steam engine. Dated 19th Century

This solar machine constructed by Frenchman Auguste Mouchot was presented in the Tuileries Garden in Paris where it drove a printing press that produced 500 copies of the newspaper "Soleil journal" in the hour. Mouchot-pifres solar machine on a solar exhibition in Trocadéro, Paris 1878 illustration in Le Monde Illustré October 19, 1878.Fransman Auguste Mouchot took patent 1861 on a sunkeeper who is considered the first practical attempt to utilize the sun as a heat source for cooking other cooking.

Planetarium or orrery Date: circa 1880

astronomy instruments giant telescope of Yerkes Observatory University of Chicago wood engraving circa 1898,

France - AMECOURT Pontoon Helicoptere Horizontal horizontal pontoon helicopter Horizontal watchmaking in 1862. Photograph of Nadar (Gaspard-Félix Tournachon, said 1820-1910).

Drilling of wells instant, vintage engraved illustration. Industrial encyclopedia E.-O. Lami - 1875.

Engineering: a hoist in use at an arsenal. Engraving by F. Bartolozzi, 1796, after Leonardo da Vinci.

James Wylde's giant model of the Earth, erected in Leicester Square.

The submarine 'Nautilus', 1901. Artist: Poyet

The Balloon of the Marquis d'Arlande Francois Laurent Marquis d'Arlande 1742-1809 French pioneer of hot air ballooning, Marquis d'Arlande's Balloon Francois Laurent Marquis d'Arlande 1742-1809 French pioneer of hot air ballooning From the book Wondeful Balloon Ascents or The Conquest of the Skies published c 1870, Historic, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century original, Record date not stated

Theodolite, Imperial astronomical observatory, Beijing, China, illustration by Tilly from L'Illustration, No 2387, November 24, 1888.

Celestial bronze globe with a diameter of 210 cm, made by Ferdinand Verbiest in 1674, Imperial astronomical observatory, Beijing, China, illustration from L'Illustration, No 2387, November 24, 1888.

Bronze armillary sphere, Imperial astronomical observatory, Beijing, China, illustration by Tilly from L'Illustration, No 2387, November 24, 1888.

DE GROOF's device, launched from a balloon. Unfortunately, it didn't work, and he was killed during a demonstration over Cremorne Gardens, London, Date: July 1874

Copperplate engraving of the Hydrogen Balloon designed by the Montgolfier Brothers. Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (1740-1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (1745-1799) inventors of the Montgolfier-style hot air balloon, globe aérostatique. Dated 18th Century

Illustration of Aristotelian concept of the path of a projectile. Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC) an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist. Dated 16th century

Gaston Tissandier (1843-1899). French aeronaut and science communicator. Albert-Charles Tissandier (1839-1906). French architect, aeronaut, publisher and archaeologist. In 1881, the Tissandier brothers made the world's first electric-powered flight at an electricity exhibition by fitting an electric motor to an airship. After their first flight experiments, they built a large-scale model which they exhibited, for which Albert drew up the plans. The airship was 28 metres long and over 9 metres in diameter at its centre. The first airship powered by an electric motor took place on 8 October 1883, at Auteuil, a suburb of Paris (France). A second successful attempt was made in Paris on 26 September 1884. Tissandier electric airship. Engraving by Bernardo Rico (1825-1894). The Spanish and American Illustration (La Ilustracion Espanola y Americana). October 15, 1884.

Engraving depicting the path of a projectile shown as a circular arc, rather than a parabolic arc as was later proved to be the case by Galileo. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) an Italian polymath. Dated 16th century

Illustration of a Russian meteorological station on a remote island.

Engraving of 'Lumley's Patent Rudder', as exhibited at the Paris International Exhibition of 1867. Date: 1867

Baku oilfields in South Western Azerbaijan. A 'gusher' spouting out a fountain of oil before it has been brought under control. Engraving from 'The Illustrated London News' (London, 12 June 1886).

Small study airplane. Old 19th century engraved illustration from La Nature 1886

Astronomy: the Great Melbourne Telescope, in use outdoors. Colour lithograph after H. Grubb.

An engraving depicting a helicopter powered by a petrol engine, designed by Robert H. Goddard. Robert H. Goddard (1882-1945) an American engineer, professor, physicist, and inventor. Dated 20th century

Engraving depicting a meridian circle, used to determine altitude of celestial bodies, and a transit instrument, used for finding the celestial bodies crossing the meridian. Dated 19th Century

This illustration dates to before 1876. It shows the apparatus used for a ghost illusion, often referred to as "Pepper's Ghost." The real actors are seen through a large plate of colorless and transparent glass, and from the front surface of this glass rays are reflected that apparently proceed from a phantom taking part in a scene among real actors. Here, E G represents the stage that is separated from the auditorium, H, by a large plate of transparent glass, E F, placed in an inclined position and not visible to spectators for the lights in front are turned down and the stage is relatively d

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