ARTIST: Boulard
MEDIUM: Etching.
DATE: Undated, c.1890
EDITION SIZE: 7 5/8 x 5 1/8" (194 x 130 mm) plus title and wide margins.
DESCRIPTION: Gaston and Albert Tissandier are considered benchmark figures in the history of aeronautics. Gaston was a noted balloonist and science writer, while Albert was a renowned aerial illustrator. The brothers tested the limits of balloon ascension in numerous flights, and Albert recorded the natural phenomena of the upper atmosphere in countless drawings and sketches. In 1885 they invented a design for an electrically powdered airship, which was unfortunately never built. In addition to their experiments they compiled a huge ephemera collection documenting the early history of aeronautics and balloon flight. This invaluable collection, which is now housed in the Library of Congress, includes images of balloons and airships, as well as portraits of famous balloonists. Gaston was the only survivor of the infamous Zenith tragedy, in which Sivel and Croce-Spinelli died of oxygen deprivation, testing the limits of high altitude flying.
ADDITIONAL INFO:
CONDITION: Good condition. Black & white.
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