Ballooning scenes on a fan, late 18th century.

Ballooning scenes depicted on a fan made with light tortoiseshell carved sticks. The three painted panels illustrate: 'Ascension de Blanchard a Paris, 1784'; 'Experiences de M. M. Charles et Robert, 1783'; 'Ascension des Freres Robert 27 aout, 1783.' French aeronaut, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, with the American, Dr John Jeffries, made the first aerial crosing of the English Channel on 7th January 1785. The brothers Noel and Jean Robert, and Profesor Jacques Charles, made the first manned hydrogen balloon flight on 1st December 1783.