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a picture of an old picture of a city from the airan old photograph of a city with a lot of buildingsan old picture of a map of a citya picture of an aerial view of a cityan old photo of an aerial view of a city with a riveran old photograph of a city with a bridge and a riveran old photograph of a city with a lot of buildingsan old picture of a picture of an aerial view of a city
Premium ROUILLAC

Estimate €300 - €600
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Description
[Photography] Aerostatic or balloon photography, 1886 7 aerial photographic plates, albumen prints, 23.5 x 35 cm, mounted on heavy card, 38 x 52 cm, captioned and dated in pencil. An extremely rare collection of 7 prints taken from a balloon by Captain Fribourg of the Army’s Geographical Service, during the ascent on 10 September 1886, from Meudon to Compiègne (Soiling and water stains, damage to the margins) From the collection of Colonel Emile Driant (1855–1916). During a short unguided ascent carried out on 10 September 1886 in the ‘Le Gay-Lussac’ balloon, Major Fribourg obtained a dozen perfectly sharp and successful photographs. The balloon took off from Chalais-Madon at 11.30 am, crossed Paris at an altitude of 1,480 metres, and landed near Compiègne at 2.15 pm. Commander Fribourg used a hand-held wooden camera with a sliding shutter, fitted with an eyepiece and a viewfinder. This was a true technical feat for the time. These photographs were displayed at the 1886 International Exhibition and were the subject of numerous articles in specialist journals, some of which reproduced the photographs. The seven views include: Pont du Point du Jour (Paris) – Rond-point des Champs-Élysées (Paris) – Île de Saint-Denis – Ponts d’Asnières – Fort de Stains – Town of Senlis – Barracks and Château de Compiègne.
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About the sale ARCHIVES, BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
Auction location
Auction time 10/08/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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