Fascinating aviation art

Courtesy of a link in the archives over at Dark Roasted Blend, I came across two articles at Voyages Extraordinaires, a blog that describes itself as:

"a weblog for people of intelligence and good breeding who enjoy rousing Victorian-Edwardian Scientific, Imperial and Planetary Romances, Retro-Futurism, Victoriana, silent and early cinema, and authentic tales of history and exploration."

The two articles are 'Great Moments in the History of Flight, Series 1' and 'Series 2'. They depict a series of French trading cards from the last decade of the 19th century, showing the history of flight prior to that time. Here are two examples from each series to whet your appetite.

Experiments to control the direction of flight of balloons by Guyton de Morveau, 1784

First use of an observation balloon, named L'Entreprenant, at the Battle of Fleurus in 1794

Death of Madame Sophie Blanchard, first woman to die in an aviation accident, in 1819

Rescue of balloonist Francisque Arban by Italian fishermen
after he ditched his balloon in the Mediterranean Sea in 1846

There are many more images in Part 1 and Part 2 of the article. Highly recommended reading for all lovers of aviation history. Thanks to Voyages Extraordinaires for finding and publishing them!

Peter