Etching entitled 'Sic itur ad astra', showing Charles and Robert's balloon ascent outside the Palace of the Tuilleries in Paris on 1 December 1783. Designed by Jacques Charles (1746-1823), a French profesor of physics, and constructed by the brothers Jean and Noel Robert, this balloon carried Charles and Noel Robert on the first manned free flight of a hydrogen balloon. The balloon set off from the Tuilleries at 1.40pm in front of a crowd of 400,000, landing two hours later at Nesle-la-Vallee, between Nesle and Hedouville, over 27 miles (43 km) away. Robert alighted here but Charles re-ascended in the balloon, reaching an altitude of over 9000 feet (2.7 km). Dimensions: 216mm x 146mm.

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