Existing comment:
Hand colored triptych print
Utagawa Yoshitori
Japan, c. 1867
Thaddeus Sobieski Constantine Lowe (1832–1913) was one of the great American aeronauts of the 19th century. On June 14, 1860, Lowe (on the far left with beard) demonstrated an ascension at Philadelphia for a delegation of Japanese visitors. Some years later, the Japanese artist created this triptych so those who had never seen a balloon could imagine the event. The accurate portrait of Lowe is based on illustrated newspaper accounts available to the artist.
In June 1861, T.S.C. Lowe made a tethered balloon ascent from a spot in front of the present location of the National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall to demonstrate the value of aerial reconnaissance to President Abraham Lincoln. The experiment led to the creation of a balloon corps for the Union Army, the first military aeronautical unit in American history. |