Balloons in Adventure

In 1859, balloonist John La Mountain, with the hope of eventually flying across the Atlantic, tried to reach New York from St Louis, landing in a tree in upstate New York. The following year, British balloonist Henry Coxwell and physicist James Glaisher made an amazing ascent to 39,000 feet. Both became victims of hypoxia and barely made it down alive. Thaddeus Lowe, a dashing traveling magician, also hoping to cross the Atlantic, built a giant airship in 1859 called the City of New York. The balloon was built to hold 725,000 cubic feet of gas which he estimated could lift 11 tons, including the 20 foot basket and a lifeboat. He was unable to secure enough gas to make the Atlantic attempt and the advent of the Civil War interrupted any chance he had of trying again.

Early in the 1860s photographer James Wallace Black began developing photos taken from balloons piloted by Samuel King. The concept became invaluable for use in the American Civil War. However, even before Black began his aerial photography, Gaspard Felix Tournachon, better known as Nadar, had the idea. Nadar was a French aeronaut and photographer, and a close friend of Jules Verne. Nadar designed a giant balloon called “Le Géant” which stood 196 feet tall and had a capacity of 212,000 cubic feet. The gondola was even more remarkable. It was 13 feet long with a balustraded balcony and was divided into six separate compartments including a bathroom and a darkroom for developing the aerial photos. On October 18, 1863 Nadar flew it 400 miles from Paris to Germany. Later, the gondola was exhibited at the Crystal Palace. As far as anyone knows, the aerial photos did not survive but Nadar made a good living with his photo business. Using balloon gondolas, the public could stand behind the gondola and pretend they were on a fantasy balloon flight while Nadar took their photograph.