1-343-958 - Art Media/Heritage Images

Satirical engraving on the fire of the balloon of Miolan and Janinet 1784 (1887). French abbots Miolan and Janinet were ridiculed for their failed balloon ascent from the Jardin de Luxembourg. They had sold tickets to the event and crowds had gathered from six in the morning. However, by five in the afternoon the balloon had still not risen from the ground and the crowd became impatient. An angry mob attacked the balloon, tearing it to shreds and setting it alight. The two escaped unharmed, but the damage to their reputations was irreparable, and many lampoons and caricatures emerged shortly afterwards. Published in History of Balloons by Gaston Tissandier, Paris, 1887.