A new acquisition by the Transportation Library documents the first successful balloon flight in England. The 1784 broadside features an illustration of Vincent Lunardi’s flight on September 15 of that year, before a crowd estimated here at 300,000 spectators. Lunardi was accompanied in flight by a cat, two caged pigeons, and a favorite lap dog, all of whom are depicted in the balloon’s basket alongside the Italian aeronaut.
Additionally, we see the mechanisms of the balloon, numbered and labeled. These included “3. Wings to steady the Balloon;” and “4. The Oar by which he could manoeuvre as he pleased”. Falling from the balloon are: “5. The Oar which fell” and “6. The Flag thrown out.”
Lunardi published an account of his journey, Lunardi’s grand aerostatic voyage through the air, containing a complete and circumstantial account of the grand aerial flight made by that enterprising foreigner, in his air balloon, on September 15, 1784, which has been digitized and can be read online.
The Transportation Library has a history of collecting on innovative technologies in transportation. Today, that includes such technologies as automated, connected, electric and shared mobility. In the 1780s, the transformative transportation technology of the day was the balloon. This acquisition highlights that innovation in transportation has been a constant since the earliest days of human mobility, and our current moment of innovation in transportation is squarely within that tradition.
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