Display Status
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Date
June 6, 1874
Type
ART-Prints, Original
Medium
Print, Planographic Process on Paper, Colored
Physical Description
Colored planographic print of 'Le Tricolore' balloon. Image shows the large yellow balloon aloft with two men and one woman in the basket. The balloon is that of Claude Jules Duruof (1841-1899), one of the aeronaut/heroes of the Siege of Paris. At 8 am on September 20, 1870 he flew a balloon out of besieged Paris. He was later charged with cooperating with the communards, but acquitted.
This lithograph was signed by Duruof on June 6, 1874. The year before, he and his wife ascended in threatening weather when the crowd questioned their courage, remarking, "Let us show then that we are not afraid to die." The pair disappeared into the mist and were forced down and presumed lost. Their rescue by the English fishing boat Grand Charge was much celebrated.
The diameter of the balloon is given as 11 meters 53. Scale is given as 25 mille=1 meter.
Dimensions
Mat: 62.2 × 42.5cm (24 1/2 × 16 3/4 in.)
Unmatted: 52.7 × 33.3cm (20 3/4 × 13 1/8 in.)
Inventory Number
A20140650000
Credit Line
Gift of the Norfolk Charitable Trust
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.