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This 19th and 20th century ballooning memorabilia collection contains the following items, which have been meticulously inventoried: 112 stereoscopic photographs; 107 photographs; 84 postcards, trade cards, valentines, and similar items; 80 prints; and 23 miscellaneous items.
Identifier
NASM.1990.0009
Creator
Krainik, Cliff
Date
1859-1934
Provenance
Clifford Krainik, Purchase, 1989, 1990-0009, NASM
Extent
3.19 Cubic feet (2 shoeboxes; 3 flatboxes)
Archival Repository
National Air and Space Museum Archives
Scope and Contents
The Krainik Ballooning Collection contains 112 stereoscopic photographs; 107 photographs; 84 postcards, trade cards, valentines, and similar items; 80 prints; and 23 miscellaneous items all pertaining to 19th and 20th century ballooning. Highlights of the stereoscopic photographs include: views of T.S.C. Lowe's balloons during the Civil War; views of the Nadar and Godard balloons; balloons during the Boer War, Russo-Japanese War, and WWI; and views of the airships Ganymede, Great Western, Phantom Balloons, Buffalo, Madame Carlotta, and The Aerial. The photographic portion of the collection features Matthew Brady's views of Lowe's balloons during the Civil War; views of the balloon Madam Carlotta before and during flights; smoke and gas balloon inflation and flights; and portraits of T.S.C. Lowe and other pioneers of ballooning.
The collection also contains lithographic cards printed in Germany, whimsical advertising trade cards incorporating popular ballooning motifs and events, and 19th century woodcut illustrations from various periodicals concerning all aspects of ballooning. Other items include a small broadside for the Grand Balloon Ascension of CARLOTTA and a contract for smoke balloon ascensions. A few non-archival items, such as medals for Lowe's balloon, City of New York, and Giffard's giant captive balloon, 1878, were accessioned with this collection and subsequently transferred to curatorial collections.
Note: The digital images in this finding aid were repurposed from scans made by an outside contractor for a commercial product and may show irregular cropping and orientation in addition to color variations resulting from damage to and deterioration of the original objects.
Arrangement note
This collection has been arranged, first, in chronological order based on the Krainik inventory number that was assigned by the donor (K#), and then by size.
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
Krainik Ballooning Collection, Acc. 1990-0009, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Topics
Great Western (Airship)
Phantom Balloons (Airships)
Airships
World War, 1914-1918
Aeronautics
Madame Carlotta (Airship)
The Aerial (Airship)
Works of art
Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905
South African War, 1899-1902
Buffalo (Airship)
Aeronautics -- 1903-1916
Aeronautics -- pre-1903
Ganymede (Airship)
Balloons
Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Communications
Balloons -- History
Balloons -- pre-1900
Spanish-American War, 1898
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Stereoscopic photographs
Postcards
Photographs
Woodcuts