Balloon Journal — Desrais 1786 Montgolfier Brothers

On the morning of 19 September 1783, the gardens of the Palace of Versailles fell silent as a 70-foot balloon painted sky-blue with gold fleurs-de-lys and royal ciphers rose into the air before King Louis XVI, Queen Marie Antoinette, and the assembled court. In the crimson basket beneath hung a sheep, a duck, and a rooster — the first living creatures ever to ascend into the atmosphere. Two months later, on 21 November 1783, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes became the first human beings to fly untethered over Paris. The age of flight had begun.

The front cover presents Claude Louis Desrais's magnificent hand-colored engraving of the Versailles demonstration (1786) — the Le Réveillon balloon ascending above the palace gardens, the royal court observing from the foreground, the composition capturing the precise moment when flight transformed from philosophical speculation to demonstrated reality, rendered with the elegance and precision characteristic of French Enlightenment scientific illustration. The back cover presents Desrais's detailed technical diagram Figure Exacte Et Proportions Du Globe Aërostatique (1786) — the exact specifications of the balloon used for the first untethered manned flight: height 70 pieds, diameter 46 pieds, capacity 60,000 cubic pieds, weight 1,000 livres, with period French text describing the elaborate ornamentation of gold fleurs-de-lys, zodiac signs, royal ciphers surrounded by suns, mascarons, garlands, and supporting eagles, all rendered in gold on azure blue, the crimson gallery with gold fringes that carried Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes on their historic Paris flight.

Product Details

• Format: 5.75 × 8 in (14.6 × 20.3 cm)
• Pages: 150 lined pages (75 sheets)
• Perforated pages — tear out cleanly without damaging the binding
• Paper weight: 90 gsm, suitable for fountain pens and pencils
• Hardcover with matte finish, casewrap sewn binding
• Weight: 400 g (14.1 oz)

Perfect For

• Aviation historians and aerospace enthusiasts celebrating the dawn of human flight
• French Enlightenment history and 18th-century science collectors
• Travelers and adventurers inspired by the spirit of exploration
• Students and educators of the history of science and technology
• Steampunk and retro-futurism enthusiasts drawn to the age of aeronautics
• Thoughtful gifts for anyone captivated by the Montgolfier brothers' achievement

Read more: The Sheep, the Duck, and the Rooster: The First Passengers of the Age of Flight

EU Compliance

Responsible person: HONSON VENTURES LIMITED, gpsr@honsonventures.com, 3, Gnaftis House flat 102, Limassol, Mesa Geitonia, 4003, CY

This product comes with a 2-year statutory warranty under EU law. For care instructions: keep away from moisture and direct sunlight. Store flat or upright in a dry environment.