Scrapbook of early aeronautica
A scrapbook of early aeronautical prints collected by William Upcott, a London bibliographer, with a 1783 date and a focus on balloon ascents, parachuting and the balloonists themselves. The pictures are mostly engravings and hand-coloured plates: a fabric balloon with a wicker basket, pulley and winch diagrams, crowds waving hats and flags on a riverside, and a crowded engraved scene of scholars and instruments. A designer could draw on their fine linework, dense crowd groupings, and the pale, aged paper tones.





