Departure of Blanchard and Jeffries' Balloon from Dover, January 7, 1785
Medium
Hand-colored etching
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed and laid down): 10 in. × 13 15/16 in. (25.4 × 35.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Paul Bird Jr., 1962
Accession Number
62.696.58
Art Historical Context
This hand-colored etching captures the historic departure of Jean-Pierre Blanchard and Dr. John Jeffries from Dover on January 7, 1785—the first successful balloon flight across English Channel. Published nearly decade later in 1794 by S. W. Fores, the print likely draws on designs associated with the aeronauts themselves and features the lively, satirical touch of Thomas Rowlandson, leading British caricaturist the era. The scene shows the balloon lifting off amid a crowd of onlookers, blending documentary detail with the dramatic flair typical of late-eighteenth-century popular imagery. The...