Fine Ballooning Art

January 30 Bonhams, London, England will hold an auction of fine ballooning art. These items are from a private collection. Following is a description of some of the items.

Shut off the burner, drop your anchor and land safely at Bonhams to view a private collection featuring all forms of ballooning art. This extremely comprehensive and rare collection (only the second such sale to come to auction in the last ten years) includes; boxes, enamels, ceramics, medals, fans, needle cases and other works of art illustrating the historic ballooning events and ensuing craze of the late 18th century. Ballooning began with the demonstration of a balloon by the Montgolfier Brothers on June 4th 1783, illustrated on a French wooden Diptich Dial, estimate £1,200-£1,800. This initial event was followed by the first human flight made on November 21 1783 in a hot air balloon by Pilatre de Rosier and the Marquis d'Arlandes. This scene near the Chateau of the Dauphin, is captured on a French ivory snuffbox, estimate £1,200- £1,800. Another French cylindrical snuff box, estimated at £2,000-£3,000, has a tortoiseshell lining and a pull-off cover finely painted in gouache on ivory, showing the second manned balloon flight by Professor J A C Charles and Marie-Noel Robert. They ascended from the Tuileries Gardens on December 1, 1783. Not without humor, the artist shows a rather short lady standing at the back on a chair in the effort to gain a better view! Also a painted French bone pen case depicts Charles & Robert at another stage of their flight, seen passing over the Pont Neuf, estimate £1,500-£2,500. Half of Paris could not help but witness this flight as they flew over the city and this event signaled the start of ballooning mania. Unusual daring airborne feats ensued from these initial flights and made several men ballooning celebrities including Jean-Pierre Blanchard who became the most famous early balloonist. Blanchard made the first balloon crossing of the English Channel with his financial backer, Jeffries, on January 7 1785. Blanchard's channel crossing balloon is illustrated on a plaque on the reverse of a two color gold, silver and enamel verge watch, estimated to sell in the region of £5,000, and their balloon is shown on an enamel sword peg front, estimate £1,500- £2,000. The portrait miniature of Andre-Jaques Garnerin is an excellent likeness of another notable and fashionable balloonist of the time, famous for making the first parachute jump ever in 1797. He is portrayed with his barrels for filling operations and his parachute, estimate £1,500-£2,500. Also included is a miniature, probably originally from a box lid, of the first successful flight on horseback, estimate £800-£1,200. Amongst a selection of nine fans, the sale includes a very rare French woodblock fan, one of the only two known woodblock ballooning fans in private collections, estimate £2,000-£2,500. The woodblock fan was the cheapest type of souvenir fan to be produced and was frequently discarded, hence its rarity today. Also, an exceptionally rare satirical painted silk fan, one of only two known satirical fans on ballooning, estimate £3,000 £4,000. The fan shows the attempted flight by Abbe Miolan, M Janinet and the Marquis d'Arlandes. The flight was well publicized and attracted a large number of spectators but they never achieved take off. The central vignette of the fan illustrates how the balloon should have taken off, the left vignette shows the balloon set alight by the angry crowd and the right vignette is a cartoon that makes a pun on their names - 'Miaouing'(Miolan) and 'Little Donkey'(Janinet) had planned to climb Parnassus to eternal glory. Finally, an English S Mordan silver Necessaire de Couture (sewing kit) - modeled as a balloon with a wicker basket, estimate £500-£800. The balloon unscrews to reveal needles, a silver bobbin, silver tape measure and silver thimble arranged around a hollow central spindle, estimate £500-£800.

For general inquiries concerning any sale call +44-171-393-3900. Catalogue inquiries call +44-171-393-3933. World Wide Web address http://www.Bonhams.com/