Snapshots of the Past

[Grand Balloon... de Mr. Genry Giffard, 1878 - Balloon cables under ornate canopy] – Vintage Print

[Grand Balloon... de Mr. Genry Giffard, 1878 - Balloon cables under ornate canopy], 1878 — historic photograph
[Grand Balloon... de Mr. Genry Giffard, 1878 - Balloon cables under ornate canopy], 1878. Historic photograph 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

This historic photograph of [Grand Balloon... de Mr. Genry Giffard, 1878 - Balloon cables under ornate canopy] brings a moment of history to your wall. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.

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[Grand Balloon... de Mr. Genry Giffard, 1878 - Balloon cables under ornate canopy]

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Tethered by a web of cables and set beneath an ornate canopy, this balloon stands apart from the free-flying aerial scenes more common in the period's prints. Henri Giffard, the French engineer known for his 1852 steam-powered airship, built captive balloons that carried paying passengers high above the ground for a view of the city. This sepia photoprint by Dagron, from the collection of aeronaut Gaston Tissandier, is dated 1878, the year Paris hosted its Exposition Universelle and such ascents drew large crowds. The cables and decorated enclosure show how the spectacle was staged as much as the flight itself.

Created / published1878
Medium1 photographic print.
GenrePhotographic prints 1870-1880.
NotesThis record contains unverified data from old caption card. Tissandier Collection. Sepia photoprint by Dagron.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,536 × 1,162 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-144102

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