Greens grosser Luftballon im Lande der Antipoden, [184-] / etching by J.W. Zinke after Cajetan

SV/180

fonds

Wien : im Bureau der Theaterzeitung, Rauhensteingasse, no. 926, [184-]

Graphic Materials, Prints

903213

1 print - etching, hand-coloured - plate mark 20.9 x 26.8 cm, on sheet approx. 23.5 x 29.0 cm

Charles Green (1785–1870), a balloonist, was born in London in 1785. His first ascent was in 1821 in a balloon filled with coal gas. In November 1836, accompanied by Robert Hollond and Thomas Monck Mason, he undertook a flight from Vauxhall Gardens, London to Weilburg, Germany. The flight of around 500 miles in 18 hours set a long-distance balloon record for flights from England, a record that stood until 1907.

During his career he made over 500 ascents. In 1840 while recovering from a hard landing in Essex, he conceived a plan to cross the Atlantic by balloon, scooping up sea water with a special device. The crossing was never attempted and became the subject of jokes, cartoons, and hoaxes, such as Edgar Allan Poe's announcement in 1844 that Green's former passenger Monck Mason had actually made the crossing. Green died in 1870.

Reference:
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/ (accessed 31 August 2010)

An Austrian satirical print depicting the arrival of the intended trans-Atlantic balloon flight of Charles Green among the natives of the antipodes. It shows the balloonists being greeted by a group of natives and spectators. Most of the natives are scantily clad; although one wears a crinoline, gloves, and bonnet; while another carries a tea service.

Out of copyright: Artist died before 1955

Title taken from etching

Inscribed underneath image 'Cajetan del.' and 'J.W. Zinke sc.'.

Original drawing attributed to J. Cajetan by Library of Congress.

Reference:
Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog. http://www.loc.gov/ (accessed 1 Sept. 2010)

From series Satyrisches Bild ; no. 47