(AVIATION) The two published issues of the Balloon Graphic o

Sale 2646 - Lot 54

Price Realized: $ 562

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 600 - $ 900

(AVIATION.) The two published issues of the Balloon Graphic, on the planned "Great Transatlantic Balloon Expedition." 16 total pages, 20 1/4 x 14 inches, disbound; folds, minor wear. New York, 9 and 16 August 1873

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The New York Daily Graphic began in March 1873, and to gain attention they sponsored the first attempt at a trans-Atlantic balloon flight. Upon announcing this bold venture, they published these two extras under the title "The Balloon Graphic," which describe the plans of aeronaut Washington Donaldson at length, with numerous maps and illustrations.

The actual launch took place two months later, on 6 October. Donaldson and his two companions launched successfully from a baseball field in Brooklyn, but they soon lost control of the massive balloon above Canaan, CT, and jumped ship as the balloon hurtled at low altitude through forest and farm. One of the aeronauts later died from his injuries.

With--two issues of the Daily Graphic featuring cover illustrations on the planned flight: 24 July 1873 with the illustration later used in Balloon Graphic #2, and 7 October 1873 with a reworked cover engraving from Balloon Graphic #1, announcing the balloon's successful launch and "temporary interruption."