Snapshots of the Past

[Cartoon showing monstrous balloon competing with railroad train as a freight carrier] – Vintage Print

[Cartoon showing monstrous balloon competing with railroad train as a freight carrier] — historic print
[Cartoon showing monstrous balloon competing with railroad train as a freight carrier]. Historic print 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

Step back in time with [Cartoon showing monstrous balloon competing with railroad train as a freight carrier], a historic print rich in period detail. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.

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[Cartoon showing monstrous balloon competing with railroad train as a freight carrier]

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This woodcut sets a bulging balloon against a railroad train, with both shown as rival carriers of freight. The cartoon likely dates to about 1860, a period when newspapers and humor magazines often lampooned new transport schemes. Aeronauts such as John Wise were promoting balloons for mail and cargo, while railroads were rapidly expanding across the country and drawing heavy investment. The caption card's terms, including "Freight" and "Balloons," suggest the print's satirical point was about which technology would win the business of moving goods. The record is unverified, so its attribution and original publication are not confirmed.

Medium1 print : woodcut.
Notesca. 1860.
SubjectsThis record contains unverified, old data from caption card. Caption card tracings: Freight; Balloons--Cat.; Rr--Cartoon; Shelf.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,536 × 1,214 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-121067

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