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Sale 52
Manuscript, Collectibles and Aerospace Auction
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Realized |
Lot 550 |
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Montgolfier - The Father of Flight and Inventor of the Balloon (1740-1810) French inventor who, with his brother Jacques-Etienne, built the first practical balloon, an important step in the development of aeronautics. The first balloon was inflated with heated air, which made an ascent of ten minutes at Annonay on June 5, 1783. They also built a balloon which carried a sheep, a rooster, and a duck to 1,000 feet over Versailles on November 21, 1783 while Louis XVI watched. To test whether balloons could carry passengers, Joseph made a 130-foot-diameter balloon ("Le Flesselle"), and on January 19, 1784, at Lyons, on the second attempt, Joseph and two other passengers (one of them being Claude Gabriel Fontaine) made a 15-minute flight.
Autograph letter signed "J Montgolfier" 2 pages, in French, 9¼ x 7 1/8 in. (237 x 188 mm), Paris, "le 14 brumaire an 11" (November 6, 1802). An affectionate letter written to Claude Gabriel Fontaine, who is in New York, regarding problems with Fontaine's son and various financial affairs and urging him to return soon to France. Integral address leaf with seal tear; some minor soiling. Fontaine was a close friend of Montgolfier, as well as being an aeronaut on that first manned flight.
Estimated Value $4,500 - 5,500.
Ex personal papers of Claude Gabriel Fontaine.
View details and enlarged photo
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$2,990 |
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