About Magazine Podcasts Events
Museum Hours:Wednesday–Saturday, 10AM–5PM

Digital Collections

Illustrations, Ephemera

Balloon flown by Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (Nadar)

  • L’aérostat “Le Géant” de Nadar

  • 1863 (Date attributed to balloon flight)
  • 1909 (Date attributed to postcard)

Rights

In the United States

Download selected image

PDFSmall JPG1200 x 1772px — 414 KBFull-sized JPG2484 x 3668px — 1.6 MBOriginal fileTIFF — 2484 x 3668px — 26.1 MB
View
In the
United States
PDF
Download PDF

Postcard featuring a hand-drawn illustrated depiction of the hot air balloon "“Le Géant” ("The Giant") flown by French photographer and journalist Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (1820-1910). A proponent of manned flight, Tournachon (better known by the pseudonym "Nadar") commissioned the prominent balloonist Eugène Godard to construct Le Géant in 1863. This postcard is part of a set originally collected in a scrapbook entitled Album Gravures et Cartes-Postales: Vieux Paris Types Petits Métiers et Cris De La Rue (1909).

Property Value
Artist
Place of creation
Format
Genre
Medium
Extent
  • 5.5 in. H x 3.5 in. W
Language
Subject
Rights No Copyright - United States
Credit line
  • Courtesy of Science History Institute

Institutional location

Department
Collection
Physical container
  • Box 287

View collection guide View in library catalog

Related Items

Cite as

Molynk, A. “Balloon Flown by Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (Nadar).” Watercolor (paint), 1863–1909. Donald F. Othmer Papers, Box 287. Science History Institute. Philadelphia. https://digital.sciencehistory.org/works/3197xn272.

  Export citation (RIS) ?

This citation is automatically generated and may contain errors.

The Science History Institute recognizes there are materials in our collections that may be offensive or harmful, containing racist, sexist, Eurocentric, ableist, or homophobic language or depictions. The history of science is not exempt from beliefs or practices harmful to traditionally marginalized groups. The Institute is engaged in ongoing efforts to responsibly present and address the evidence of oppression and injustice inextricable from the history of science. If you would like to learn more about our ongoing efforts or if you encounter harmful, inaccurate, or insufficient descriptions, please contact us at digital@sciencehistory.org.