The Pictorial Times, Saturday, April 1, 1843
Dates
- Creation: 1843 April 1
Conditions Governing Use
Access to the Theodore Newton Vail Collection of Aeronautical Images, Broadsides and Clippings is not authorization to publish. Separate written application for permission to publish must be made to the Institute Archives. Copyright of some items in this collection may be held by respective creators, not by the donor of the collection.
Biographical / Historical
In April 1841, William Samuel Henson patented a light-weight steam engine, and with fellow lacemaking-engineer John Stringfellow patented a steam-powered monoplane called the ""Henson Aerial Steam Carriage"" in 1843. Henson, Stringfellow, Frederick Marriott, and D.E. Colombine formed the Aerial Transit Company. To promote their vision of the future, publicist Frederick Marriott commissioned prints depicting Henson Aerial Steam Carriages flying above London, India, Egypt, China, and other world locations. Several unsuccessful attempts were made to fly models of the craft between 1844 and 1847. The project was eventually abandoned, the company dissolved, and Henson later emigrated to the United States where he patented several other inventions, including the safety razor.
Language of Materials
English
Existence and Location of Originals
Box 23
Physical Description
Other
Dimensions
2 pages; 40.0 x 28.6 cm
General Note
Article about Mr. Henson’s aerial steam carriage with accompanying illustrations. The first page shows two images, one of the carriage on the ground before take-off, and one of the carriage in flight over London. The second page shows five illustrations, one of the framework, one each of the upper and lower views of the carriage and two showing cross sections of the boiler.
General Note
The Pictorial Times: A Weekly Journal of News, Literature, Fine Arts, and the Drama
Sources used for Biographical/Historical note
Crouch, Tom D., The Eagle Aloft, Two Centuries of the Balloon in America (Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C., 1983), 330-331.
Hodgson, J.E., History of Aeronautics in Great Britain (Oxford University Press, London, 1924), 355-358.
Subject
Genre / Form
Topical
Repository Details
Part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Libraries. Department of Distinctive Collections Repository
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries
Building 14N-118
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge MA 02139-4307 US
distinctive-collections@mit.edu