Snapshots of the Past

[Aerial balloon performance with tents and audience below] – Antique Wall Art

[Aerial balloon performance with tents and audience below], [Hartford, Conn.?] : Calhoun Print, [between 1870 and 1890] — vintage poster
[Aerial balloon performance with tents and audience below], [Hartford, Conn.?] : Calhoun Print, [between 1870 and 1890]. Vintage poster from the Ballooning collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Few images capture their era like this vintage poster of [Aerial balloon performance with tents and audience below]. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.

Order it framed and ready to hang, or unframed to match a frame you already love. A conversation-starting piece for home, office, or as a meaningful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.

[Aerial balloon performance with tents and audience below]

Order a print

Secure checkout · SSL encryptedPowered by Stripe and PayPal

Free shipping in the lower 48 states. The checkout page shows the picture, size and price before you pay.

Sign up for our newsletter

Sent securely. No purchase needed. Unsubscribe anytime.

Ask about licensing or this print

A balloon rises above a crowd gathered among tents, showing the kind of spectacle that drew paying audiences to ascensions in the decades after the Civil War. Such flights were staged at fairgrounds, circuses and summer resorts, where an aeronaut and sometimes an aerialist performed for a fee. The record lists Calhoun Print, probably of Hartford, Connecticut, and dates the sheet between 1870 and 1890; it seems to be only one part of a larger poster. Its bold color woodcut shapes were built to be read quickly by passersby.

Created / published[Hartford, Conn.?] : Calhoun Print, [between 1870 and 1890]
Medium1 print (poster) : woodcut, color.
GenreWoodcuts Color 1870-1890.Posters 1870-1890.
NotesBella C. Landauer collection. Appears to be one sheet from a larger poster. Unprocessed in PR 13 CN 1964:R1.
SubjectsBalloons (Aircraft)--1870-1890. Circuses & shows--1870-1890. Aerialists--1870-1890.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,500 × 2,005 px · prints to 5 × 7 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-223563

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.

Related pictures

[Observation kite balloon in air with basket (gondola) suspended below, U.S. Naval Training Station, Hampton Roads, Virginia][Observation kite balloon in air with basket (gondola) suspended below, U.S. NavPanoramic aerial view of ruins of San Francisco from captive balloonPanoramic aerial view of ruins of San Francisco from captive balloon[Aerial view of a portion of Winsted, Conn., taken from the balloon at altitude of 3050 feet][Aerial view of a portion of Winsted, Conn., taken from the balloon at altitude [Aerial view of Boston; first photograph taken from a balloon; 1861][Aerial view of Boston; first photograph taken from a balloon; 1861][Grand Balloon... de Mr. Henry Gifford, 1878 - Low aerial view of Seine bridges from balloon][Grand Balloon... de Mr. Henry Gifford, 1878 - Low aerial view of Seine bridges [Grand Balloon... de Mr. Henry Giffard, 1878 - High aerial view of Paris from Balloon][Grand Balloon... de Mr. Henry Giffard, 1878 - High aerial view of Paris from Ba