First ascent of Montgolfier brothers hot air balloon in 1783, in Paris – print by C. Dupont,1790

Description

“Premiere ascension du ballon a l’aire chaude, des freres Montgolfier a Paris 1783.” First ascent of Montgolfier brothers hot air balloon in Paris in 1783.  Engraved and hand coloured print by Charles Dupont, Paris 1790.

Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (26.08.1740 – 26.06.1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (06.01.1745 – 02.08.1799) were paper manufacturers from Annonay, in Ardèche, France best known as inventors of the Montgolfière-style hot air balloon or globe aérostatique. They launched the first piloted ascent. Joseph-Michel was described as a maverick and dreamer and was impractical in terms of business and personal affairs. Of the two brothers, it was Joseph who was first interested in aeronautics. Joseph made his first definitive experiments in November 1782 while living in Avignon. To make a public demonstration and to claim its invention the brothers constructed a globe-shaped balloon of sackcloth tightened with three thin layers of paper inside. On 4 June 1783, they flew the balloon at Annonay in front of a group of dignitaries. Word of their success quickly reached Paris. On 19 September 1783, the demonstration was performed at the royal palace in Versailles, before King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette and a crowd. In collaboration with paper manufacturer Réveillon, Étienne built a 60,000-cubic-foot (1,700 m3) balloon for the purpose of making flights with humans. It was about seventy-five feet (23 m) tall and about fifty feet (15 m) in diameter. Réveillon supplied rich decorative touches of gold figures on a deep blue background, including fleur-de-lis, signs of the zodiac, and suns with Louis XVI’s face in the center interlaced with the royal monogram in the central section. Red and blue drapery and golden eagles were at the base of the balloon. Étienne Montgolfier was the first human to lift off the Earth, most likely on October 15, 1783.

This poster is a high quality “giclee” reproduction of a restored antique original, custom-printed on Standard Single-weight Matt Coated art paper 140gsm or  Heavyweight Matt Coated art paper 230gsm (more of a thin card density), or superb Epson Matt Canvas 320gsm, according to your choice. We use the latest UltraChromeHDX pigment inks which guarantee 60 years of colour  permanence (up to 200 years fade-proof for colour prints).  This poster is suitable for mounting and framing, as well as direct display on a wall.

IMPORTANT: If you are going to frame this print we recommend art paper 230gsm or canvas 320gsm. The 140gsm art paper option makes sense if you wish to DIY-frame or to tack the poster to a wall without framing, due to it being lighter and more flexible. All three options are giclee prints of the same high quality.

POSTER PRINT QUALITY

Please note that our reproduction posters are made to order and every print is checked before posting. The images we use in most cases are scans of the antique originals, professionally restored in order to remove the most evident stains, folds, tears and other damage. We strive to balance the restoration and saving the overall integrity and antique appearance of the original. Our restored images are unique and these prints can be purchased only from www.VictorianMaps.com.

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