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Archive Reference / Library Class No.D5459/1/28/6
Former ReferenceD5459/2/90
TitleMr Lunardis British Flag Balloon as it ascended from the Royal George Rotunda St Georges Fields, with Mrs Sage and George Biggin Esq.
Date[1785]
DescriptionA picture of a man and woman (Mrs. Sage and Mr. Biggin) standing in a basket draped with red curtains, suspended beneath a balloon decorated with the Union Jack. Available on CD 157.
LevelItem
RepositoryDerbyshire Record Office
ArtistWoodward, George Murgatroyd (?1765-1809)
Archive CreatorGeorge Murgatroyd Woodward (1765-1809), artist and writer
Further InformationVicenzo Lunardi was an Italian born in 1759, who came to London as part of the Neopolitan Embassy. On September 15, 1784 he made the first manned balloon flight in Britain. The picture depicts a flight which took place on 29 Jun 1785. He had initially planned to travel with three companions, but the combined weight of the party was too great and the balloon would not take off (Mrs Sage alone weighed at least 14 stone). Lunardi and Colonel Hastings got out, leaving Mrs Sage, the society beauty, and Mr Biggins, inventor of the coffee percolator, to make the flight. The journey lasted an hour, during which time the two passengers ate lunch consisting of chicken, ham and florentine wine, throwing the remains over the side. They flew for nearly an hour, before landing near Harrow, where an angry farmer accused them of damaging his crops, and they were rescued by a party of boys from the school.
Mrs. Sage was the 'The First English Female Aerial Traveller and she later recorded her experience in 'A Letter Addressed to a Female Friend'.
The drawing accurately shows that the balloon, which he had exhibited over the winter, showed a Union Jack because of 'his regard and attachment to everything that is English'.
Physical DescriptionColoured drawing. Size 312 x 200 mm. Portrait.
CopiesA digital copy can also be viewed on the public computers at the record office.
Publication NoteRolt, 1966.
Image

Mr Lunardis British Flag Balloon as it ascended from the Royal George Rotunda St Georges Fields, with Mrs Sage and George Biggin Esq.

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