Professor Lowe's balloon EAGLE in a storm – Historic Print
(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
This rare antique engraving captures Professor Lowe's balloon EAGLE in a storm in remarkable detail. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.
Choose the framed print, ready to hang the day it arrives, or the unframed print for a frame of your own. It makes a striking addition to a living room, study or office, and a thoughtful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past, founded in 2001, has served tens of thousands of customers worldwide.
Professor Lowe's balloon EAGLE in a storm
Order a print
Thank you. Your order went through, and a receipt is on its way by email.
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.
Thaddeus Lowe's balloon *Eagle*, shown here caught in a storm, was among the largest balloons he built, and he flew it for the Union Army during the Civil War. In June 1861, Lowe used the *Eagle* to send the first aerial telegraph message, tapping it out to Washington from a tethered gondola above Fort Corcoran. The print is undated, and its caption card links it to Civil War balloons only through a subject heading, so the stormy scene may be an illustrator's dramatization rather than a record of a particular flight. Wood engravings like this were common in illustrated newspapers of the period, which often worked from sketches.
| Medium | 1 print : wood engraving. |
|---|---|
| Notes | [no date recorded on caption card] |
| Subjects | Landauer Collection. This record contains unverified, old data from caption card. Caption card tracings: PI; Civil War, 1861-1865--Balloons; Shelf. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 1,536 × 1,210 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-120335 |
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.
![[Prof. Thaddeus Lowe's Balloon Camp" at Gaines Mill May 1862: balloon in backgrd. across field; horsemen in foregrd.]"](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/37/37284e144886-400.webp)
![[Prof. Thaddeus Lowe's Balloon Camp" at Gaines Mill May 1862: Lowe prepares to ascend; soldiers crowded around car of balloon]"](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/0f/0fe97cd9cbcd-400.webp)
