Years ago I came across a bulky hardcover book with a colorful cover, while scouring the shelves in a damp antiquarian library. I had heard once about the Aeronauts from a forgotten time, although I’d never really given the subject much attention. Ballooning. An aerial extravaganza that once took the world by surprise. Join me as we explore the history of a balloon of strangely eccentric shape (circa 1783) which measured 74 feet and weighed in at 1,000 pounds. It’s these wondrous little discoveries which give our hearts their wings.
An Excerpt from L.T.C. Rolt’s The Aeronauts: A Dramatic History of the Great Age of Ballooning
"In 1783 THE UPPER AIR was believed to hold unknown perils for the foolhardy enough to venture into it. This awe of the air was akin to the twentieth century attitude towards outer space before man invaded that realm also. The sheep, duck and the cock of Versailles played the same 'guinea pig' role as the dogs and monkeys that became the first space travelers. Yet when we recall the modest heights attained by the balloons described in the previous chapter this parallel between aeronaut and cosmonaut breaks down. For whereas the first cosmonaut ventured into realm never penetrated, on mountains men had climbed to high altitudes long before balloons were thought of.
Mt. Aiguille was climbed by order of Charles VIII of France in 1492; Leonardo da Vinci climbed to the snowfields near the Val Sesia to make scientific observations and Titlis, the first true snow-mountain, was conquered in 1744. Although the historic first ascent of Mont Blanc by Dr Michel Paccard and Jaques Balmat was not made until 1786, high mountaineering by the aid of axes and ropes was already an established art in Switzerland when Joseph Montgolfier began his experiments.
History provided no explanation for this curious inconsistency. It can only be assumed that, notwithstanding the scientific evidence which already existed to the contrary, men harbored the belief that the atmosphere followed the contours of the earth with the effect that an aeronaut ascending to 10,000 feet in a balloon might encounter conditions very different for those experienced by a mountaineer at the same altitude. Whether this be true or not, it is a fact that the prejudice against a manned balloon ascent was not easily overcome."
If you’re convinced to take your studies further, pick up a copy here!
Stop by to listen to our latest episode, where we read from THE AERONAUTS.
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