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This collection consists of a scrapbook, largely concerned with ballooning in France. Many items in the scrapbook are illustrations of early balloon flights, and there are illustrations of imaginary air vehicles, some of which are quite fanciful. The scrapbook also contains content pertaining to airships and aircraft.

 Identifier

NASM.XXXX.0254

Date

1700s to 1930s

Provenance

F. R. Wright, Purchase, 1943, NASM.XXXX.0254.

Extent

0.35 Cubic feet (1 flat box)

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of a scrapbook, largely concerned with ballooning in France. Many items in the scrapbook are illustrations of early balloon flights, and there are illustrations of imaginary air vehicles, some of which are quite fanciful. Most of the text in the scrapbook is in French, although some of the text is in English and there is a very small amount in German. The scrapbook also contains some material on early aircraft and aviation up through the early 1930s. The scrapbook features information on balloons and ascensions relating to Sadler (James), Coutelle (Jean), Garnerin (André), Garnerin (Elisa), Blanchard (Jean-Pierre), Blanchard (Madeleine-Sophie), Blanchard-Jeffries, Nadar (Félix Tournachon), and the Montgolfier Brothers. Content also pertains to airships, including Renard (Charles) & Krebs (Arthur), "La France;" SCA (Stabilimento di Costruzione Aeronautiche), N.1 "Norge;" and the LZ 127 "Graf Zeppelin." Aircraft shown in the scrapbook includes the Dewoitine D.1 C1, Blériot XI, Blériot XII, Curtiss and Wright biplanes, Breguet-Richet Gyroplane, Breguet Bre.280 T, Dornier Do R Superwal (Super Whale), and the Short S.5 Singapore Mk.I. Notable people depicted in the scrapbook, other than those previously listed, include Ernst Udet, Dieudonné Costes, Jacques-Louis Dusmesnil, Richard Evelyn Byrd, Georges Pelletier d'Oisy, and Maurice Bellonte. Note: Blank pages have not been digitally reproduced in slideshow, any gaps in numbering are due to their omission. Pages have been rotated to the orientation of their contents for easier viewing.

Arrangement note

Collection is in original order.

Rights

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.

Restrictions

No restrictions on access

Citation

French Balloon Scrapbook, NASM.XXXX.0254, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Topics

Aeronautics

Balloons

Airships

Airplanes

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Scrapbooks