Elaborately decorated "pastiache" folding hand fan dating to c. 1900. Meant to imitate the style of fans made in the late 18th century. Ivory sticks and guard sticks are finely carved and gilded with floral motifs and balloons. The textile leaf is hand-painted with floral motifs and three ballooning scenes. The scene on the left depicts the 'Ascension de Blanchard au Champ-de-Mars á Paris 2 Mars 1784.' The scene on the right depicts 'Charles et Robert Depart des Tuileries 1 Décembre 1783.' The center scene shows four people sitting at a table looking out the window at a balloon flying by. Mica was used to make the windows. The floral decorations on the front are embellished with sequins. The reverse is not decorated. Two lenses are in the head of the fan. A smaller, reducing lens unscrews from the main part of the head, while a magnifying lens is set into the head of the fan. One stick is marked, "Duvelleroy," the name of the firm that produced the fan.