Gonesse Balloon

Fabric printed with copper roller. This is a 1998 reproduction of a 1784 original.

Two aeronautic experiments carried out in 1783 are depicted here:

  • a balloon being assembled and lifting off for the first time from the Champ de Mars. It lands in the middle of Gonesse, terrorizing the inhabitants.

  • a machine taking off from the Tuileries, landing 2 hours later in the fields of Nesles.