Histoire
Dates
- Creation: c. 1851
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
Ernest Petin (1812-1878) was a milliner who became interested in dirigible balloons. He developed a design for a navigable airship consisting of a large platform supported by four spherical balloons with a system of inclined planes and Archimedian screws. Petin made his first balloon ascent on August 3, 1851, under the direction of M. Poitevin. He undertook an ambitious series of ascents in the United States from 1851-1852, in part to raise funds for his larger project. Unable to attract investors, he never completed or tested his airship.
Language of Materials
French
Existence and Location of Originals
Box 25
Physical Description
Other
Dimensions
55.7 x 45.0 cm
General Note
Clipping with an article describing historical balloon ascensions, including a detailed description of Ernest Petin’s airship. Two illustrations show the ship design.
General Note
Histoire
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), 217-220.
Hodgson, J.E., History of Aeronautics in Great Britain (Oxford University Press, London, 1924), 34-35.
Subject
- Blanchard, Jean-Pierre, 1753-1809 (Person)
- Orléans, Louis Philippe, duc d’, 1725-1785 (Person)
- Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790 (Person)
- Arlandes, François Laurent, marquis d’, 1742-1809 (Person)
- Lunardi, Vincent, 1759-1806 (Person)
- Ampère, André-Marie, 1775-1836 (Person)
- Petin, Ernest, 1812-1878 (Person)
- Rambaud, active 1784 (Person)
- Pilâtre de Rozier, Jean-François, 1754-1785 (Person)
- Robert, M. N. (Marie-Noël), 1761-1826 (Person)
- Charles, Jacques Alexandre César, 1746-1823 (Person)
- Montgolfier, Joseph-Michel, 1740-1810 (Person)
- Montgolfier, Jacques-Etienne, 1745-1799 (Person)
- Sadler, John (Person)
- Cocking, Robert (Person)
- Green, Charles, 1785-1870 (Person)
- Godard, Eugéne, 1827-1890 (Person)
- Gale, George Burcher (Person)
- Jeffries, John, 1745-1819 (Person)
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
