Glaisher, J.; Flammarion, Camille, Fonvielle, W. De; Tissandier, Gaston

Voyages Aérienes [= Air Voyages]

Paris: Librairie de L. Hachette, 1870. First edition. Hardcover. Royal 8vo. [7], 4-612 pp. Twentieth-century quarter blue morocco over blue cloth, boards ruled in gilt with the spine in six compartments, gilt lettering on the spine; all edges gilt. Marbled endpapers and pastedowns. Bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe. Title page printed in red and black. Illustrated with a frontispiece, six chromolithographs, 117 wood engravings (many of which are full-page) and 15 diagrams (some of which are maps). The engravings and chromolithographs are designed after sketches by Albert Tissandier, the engravings are by Eugène Cicéri and Adrien Marie. Met Office, "James Glaisher FRS Meteorologist and Aeronaut". Smithsonian Magazine, Jennifer Tucker, "The True History of the Aeronauts Who Transformed Our View of the World Above" James Glaisher and Camille Flammarion were respected astronomers, scientists, and aeronauts by the time of this book's publication. When he conducted experiments in his balloon, Glaisher brought instruments that measured the temperature, barometric pressure, and the chemistry of the atmosphere at different elevations. Glaisher also studied his own vitals during his ascents. Glaisher and Flammarion's balloon ascents helped to provide insights into the formation of weather (including thunder). Glaisher also helped to establish a large network of weather observation sites around the U.K., at which he could conduct meteorological measurements. Between the years 1862 and 1866 Glaisher completed 28 ascents with his co-pilot Henry Tracy Coxwell. In 1869, he completed another 27. Ballooning as a pursuit and as a means of scientific observation was becoming more commonplace in the nineteenth century, and entering the public eye as a means of scientific experimentation and study on magnetism, physiology, physics, and other disciplines. Glaisher and his fellow aeronauts' work helped to educate the public about the scientific nature of the atmosphere and of the stratosphere, demystifying a part of the natural world that was previously not understood. Near Fine. Item #000012191

A bookplate from 1972 on the front pastedown, minor rubbing to the front board and a touch of sunning to the spine.

Price: $350.00