La Quatorzieme Experience Aerostatique de M. Blanchard, Lille 1785

Share

Titled as the fourteenth aerostatic experiment of Jean-Pierre Blanchard, this print records a launch at Lille in 1785, when balloon flight was still new enough to draw large crowds. The numbering suggests a deliberate series of public ascents rather than a single event. Blanchard had already crossed the English Channel with John Jeffries in January 1785, a feat that made him one of the best-known aeronauts in Europe. Prints like this one carried news of such flights to viewers who would never see a balloon rise themselves.

More from the Ballooning collection

Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.