Antique Ballooning Snuff Box - French c. 1790

Man’s desire to soar like a bird has been a recurring theme since antiquity. In the late 1700s ballooning mania swept the Continent and was particularly frenzied in France. England and the United States felt the impact and were drawn into the fray. As a result all types of memorabilia and objects d’art were fabricated to memorialize and honor these events. Today the collection of ballooning motif antiques falls into a rather sophisticated niche.

This piece of history (and major level souvenir) recreates an image from the famous January 7, 1785 event of the first aerial flight across the English Channel to the coast of France. French balloonist Jean Pierre Blanchard, egocentric opportunist and P. T. Barnum role model, and Boston born American physician Dr. John Jefferies, Loyalist to the English Crown, intrepid scientific traveler and well-to-do patron ballooned from the cliffs of Dover over the Channel. Through the French countryside they arrived in the Forest of Guines (in the midst of the Felmores forest outside Calais), not far from Andres and near the spot celebrated for the famous interview between Henry the Eighth, King of England, and Francis the First, King of France.

The box is a horn turned snuff box with a glass covered watercolor on ivory miniature portrait. The miniature is framed with yellow gold gilt over metal twisted border. The painting commemorates the flight of Blanchard and Dr. John Jefferies. It depicts a wonderful golden balloon enveloped in a network of ropes. The basket or gondola holds two people within its confines. Attached to the gondola are what appear to be five very large feathers to be used for maneuvering the balloon. The craft hovers over a one-story building and tress in the background. In the forefront stands a large crowd almost forming a complete circle as if to enclose the balloon. Within the circle are two poles replete with ropes to tether the approaching aircraft. The artist displays a fine use of muted colors throughout. The miniature is signed in the lower right “Nico Po**** or Po**** with four letters indiscernible.

Measurements: The box measures 3 inches (7.7 cm) across and is just shy of 1 inch (2.4 cm) in height. The miniature itself is less than 2-1/4 inches (5.7 cm).

Condition: Excellent to mint with little of note except for a minute amount of wear on the bottom of the box.

Date: Circa 1790

Origin: French

Historical Notes: While in France Blanchard was inspired by the successful 1783 balloon flight of the Montgolfier brothers and he was tempted to try a combination of the lifting power of the balloon with a type of flapping wing for propulsion and control.

In 1771 Jefferies became an assistant surgeon for a Royal Navy warship while it was docked in Boston harbor. At the start of the American Revolution he sent his wife and children to England and left with the British military for Halifax in 1776. A few years later he joined his family in London where he continued to practice medicine.

Note: Please also view item 10880 for another ballooning snuff box from the same collection.