Inflating balloon with hydrogen – 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
A window into the past: Inflating balloon with hydrogen, preserved in this antique engraving. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.
Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. It makes a striking addition to a living room, study or office, and a thoughtful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.
Inflating balloon with hydrogen
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Hydrogen was prized for lifting balloons because it is much lighter than air, and this wood engraving shows the work of filling the envelope before an ascent. Engravings like this were common in 19th-century illustrated newspapers and magazines, which used the technique to bring scenes of new technology to mass readers. The record gives no date, but the subject fits the era when American balloonists and Civil War Union Army units made hydrogen on site to fill their craft. Notice how the engraver focuses on the gas apparatus and crew rather than the flight itself.
| Medium | 1 print : wood engraving. |
|---|---|
| Notes | [no date recorded on caption card] |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 1,343 × 1,536 px · prints to 4 × 5 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-120340 |
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