Ballonvaart van Blanchard, 1807 1807

This anonymous print from 1807, now in the Rijksmuseum, commemorates a hot air balloon flight using etching and watercolor on paper. This reproductive printmaking process allows for the widespread distribution of images and ideas. The image shows the balloon taking flight, and the delicate application of watercolor washes, typical of the era, adds a sense of drama to the scene. The very idea of flight and of balloons reflects the beginning of industrial manufacturing. Creating the balloon and gondola required skilled tradespeople, and the materials themselves – paper, ink, metal plates, pigments – were all increasingly available as commodities. The print then becomes a consumer good, bought to celebrate and remember the spectacle. Consider the contrast between this fragile, handmade artifact and the ambition it represents: the conquest of the skies, via technology. It’s a reminder that even the most ambitious technological achievements are rooted in material realities, the labor of production, and the act of consumption.