Baldwin's of St. James's
Auction 57 14 Apr 2021
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The Portland Collection, Commemorative Medals, Ballooning: France, First Manned Flights in Balloons, copper medal, 1784, by Augustin Pajou, 1784, two balloons ascend, a Montgolfier (hot air), trailing smoke and Charlière (hydrogen), AUDACIA FELIX, rev. legend within a border of stars, PATEFACTO PER AERA ITINERE A JOSEPHO ET STEPHANO MONTGOLFIER V. JUNII MDCCLXXXIII..., 51mm. (Malpas 6; FM [1979] 3), nearly extremely fine
The first manned flight in a Montgolfier balloon was on 21 November 1783, with Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier (1754-1785), pilot, and the Marquis d'Arlandes (1742-1809), a passenger. De Rozier was to be killed two years later attempting to cross the English Channel. The flight by Jacques Alexandre César Charles (1746-1823) in his hydrogen balloon was 10 days later. As his co-pilot he had Nicolas-Louis Robert (1760-1820), one of the three Robert brothers who had built the balloon for Charles.
The first manned flight in a Montgolfier balloon was on 21 November 1783, with Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier (1754-1785), pilot, and the Marquis d'Arlandes (1742-1809), a passenger. De Rozier was to be killed two years later attempting to cross the English Channel. The flight by Jacques Alexandre César Charles (1746-1823) in his hydrogen balloon was 10 days later. As his co-pilot he had Nicolas-Louis Robert (1760-1820), one of the three Robert brothers who had built the balloon for Charles.