Flights of Fancy
A short history, or overview, of ballooning
during the Georgian and Regency, eras: together with interesting eye-witness accounts,
to which are added numerous woodcuts and descriptions of the various balloons.
Vincenzo Lunardi
Part 4 :
The flying clerk, the flying beauty,
and the flying horse.
Vincenzo ‘Vincent’ Lunardi was a magnetic youth of “two and twenty years”, and arrived in London with Prince Caramini, Neapolitan Ambassador at the English court; first serving as his clerk, then Secretary of the Neapolitan Embassy. Handsome, gallant, vivacious, and charming to a fault, Lunardi made himself an instant social success. Inspired by the aeronautic experiments of fellow countryman Count Zambeccari, he sought and soon received official permission to make his first ascent from the grounds of the Honourable Artillery Park at Moorfields.
After preliminary experiments, Lunardi’s first flight took place on September 15, 1784 in the presence of the Prince of Wales, Lord North, Pitt, Fox, Burke, the lovely Duchess of Devonshire, other distinguished personages, and assorted animals. At 1 p.m., before a crowd of more than 150,000, Lunardi shook hands with the Prince, lifted his dog and cat into the car of his red and blue striped balloon, climbed in and launched his aerostatic menage a trois into the sky -- rising to a height of 4 miles. He unexpectedly descended near North Mimms, where he left his cat -- who was not pleased with the experience -- in the care of a woman, then took off again -- finally touching down safely in a field near Ware, in Hertfordshire.
In this field, called Long Mead or Etna, a monument was duly erected and inscribed:
Let
Posterity know
And knowing be astonished!
That On the 15th day of September,
1784
Vincent Lunardi
of
Lucca in Tuscany
The First Aerial
Traveller in Britain
Mounting from the Artillery Ground
in London
And traversing the Regions of the Air
For two Hours and fifteen Minutes
in this Spot
Revisited the Earth.
On this rude Monument
For Ages
be recorded
That wonderous enterprize,
successfully achieved
By the
powers of Chymistry
And the fortitude of man
That improvement in Science
Which
The Great Author of all Knowledge
Patronising by his Providence
The Inventions of Mankind
Hath generously permitted
To their Benefit
His own Eternal Glory
Soon after this historic flight, bets of an obscene nature were being taken at Brooks’s, centering on what could -- or couldn’t -- be done in the basket of a balloon.
The success of this ascent spurred Lunardi onto loftier goals and as a token of ‘his regard and attachment to everything that is English’, he decorated the envelope of his next balloon with the British Union Jack. It may be seen rising in all its glory from St. George’s Fields (Newington Butts), London in a painting by Julius Caesar Ibbetson.
That Lunardi was a consummate charmer, there is no doubt. He became the “social lion” of the times, and Lunardi bonnets and Lunardi garters quickly became the fashion among ladies. He loved the company of women, and in “homage” to the beauty of Mrs. Sage, he asked for the honor of taking her into the “blue Paradisian skies.” Thrilled with the romantic proposal, she accepted, and their mutual friend George Biggin (distinguished Etonian, amateur chemist and inventor of a coffee percolator) was to accompany them. The event soon proved that two was company and three or more was a burden.
The beautiful Mrs. Sage
Judging a balloon’s lifting power was not one of Lunardi’s strong suits, and for his flight on June 29,1785 it was announced that he would carry up three passengers: Colonel Hastings, George Biggin, and Mrs. Sage. Blinded by Mrs. Sage’s beauty, Lunardi may have misjudged her weight, which was, by her own admission over 200 lbs.--or 14 stone. The balloon was unequal to the task, so Lunardi and Colonel Hastings both displayed gallantry and stepped down.
With British flags waving and throngs cheering, the balloon rose quite stodgily into the air, but was soon floating pleasantly over St. James Park and Picadilly, whereupon Mrs. Sage and Mr. Biggin settled down to a lunch of chicken, ham, and Florence wine; nonchalantly tossing the remnants over the side. One hour later, the balloon came to a proper landing in a field near Harrow, where a furious farmer, ‘abusive to a savage degree’, accused the couple of damaging his crops. They were soon rescued from this coarse situation by a group of boys from Harrow school.
Mrs. Sage recorded the events and later published her experience as “England’s First Female Aeronaut” in the form of “A Letter Addressed to a Female Friend.”
Lunardi continued his conquests of the English atmosphere and in Chester, on September 8, 1785, his amicable nature resulted in the first ever aerial views, when he allowed Thomas Baldwin to make a solo ascent from the yard of Chester Castle. While aloft, Baldwin made drawings of the countryside, which were published under the title: Airopaidia. Lunardi went on to perform a number of other ascents in the British Isles: Liverpool (twice); Edinburgh (twice); Kelso and Glasgow (twice), before finally leaving for a series of aeronautical conquests across Europe starting in 1786.
His aeronautical career continued to prosper, and Lunardi even made a number of adventurous balloon ascents in his native Italy, going aloft in Rome, Palermo and Naples. Spain and Portugal also witnessed the heroic aerial exploits of Lunardi, and it was in Horcajo, Spain that descending in a balloon, became an unexpected ascension of sorts for Lunardi. Upon landing in Horcajo, the villagers thought he was a saint come down from heaven and carried him in triumph to their church.
Whether or not Lunardi remained a saint in the eyes of the villagers or others elsewhere, he added a glorious chapter to the history of aerostatic science.
****
War
is in the air.
The French were the first to exploit the potential of aerostatic globes in the theater of war and, on March 29th 1794, formed the First Brigade of Aeronautics. J.M.M. Coutelle was appointed Captain of Aerostiers, and was the first military balloon observer. By Napoleon’s command, Coutelle had conducted experiments with his hydrogen balloon at Meudon, in April, 1794, where he was ably assisted by A. L. Lavoisier, who originated the term “hydrogen”, and Dr. J.A.C. Charles, developer of the hydrogen balloon.
J. M. M. Coutelle
In the first actual war ascent, Coutelle “spotted” for the French artillery at the Battle of Fleuris in Belgium on June 26, 1794, and was a contributing factor in the victory -- even floating over the enemy lines. Shortly afterward, a snuffbox commemorating the event was produced. Later, Coutelle did balloon reconnaissance at the siege of Mayence (1796), and was ordered to Egypt by Napoleon in 1798, where the balloon equipment was destroyed in a fierce naval battle at Aboukir Bay before it could be put to use. His corps of “aerostiers” was disbanded in 1799, and military ballooning came to languish for decades.
By this time, too, aerostatic globes were beginning to take on new shapes, and the cylindrical balloon, forerunner of the dirigible, came into being. It was soon put to dramatic use by French aeronaut Pierre Tetu-Brissy, who constructed this type of balloon in Paris in 1798. His ascent would not have been so remarkable, except for the fact that “lucky” Pierre went aloft in this “sausage” riding a horse! The animal had been trained to stand quiet upon the platform beneath the balloon in a manner similar to how cavalry horses were trained not to react to gunfire. Pierre Tetu-Brissy Tetu-Brissy was no stranger to risky ascents, and had made the first-ever night ascent in a balloon on June 18th, 1786, launching himself from Paris and remaining aloft for 11 hours, successfully riding out a storm. Now, 12 years later, he made not one, but two ascents from Meudon on horseback, with the horse standing on a platform beneath the balloon.
These “equine” ascents set an example that was soon followed by other variations which even included wild animals. Rising up into the clouds, we now journey across time and prepare to set our aerostatic globe down in the early years of the 19th century, where we will encounter more exciting adventures -- and some very extraordinary ladies.
****
In our next: Garden of Airy Delights, Flying Castles, and a Lady Parachutist --or two.