Rare first edition of this very early aeronautical fantasy, an impassioned plea for the aérostation (the hot-air balloon) as the next – and overdue – technological advancement.

Rare first edition of this very early aeronautical fantasy, an impassioned plea for the aérostation (the hot-air balloon) as the next – and overdue – technological advancement.

Poujol (1811-1898) is little-known, but was the author of an Hommage to Victor Hugo and a well-known dramatist at mid-century. This is without doubt one of his most eccentric works, the product of a sunny day in the Tivoli Gardens, in which he pondered the rise of the railway and reflected that air-travel seemed to have fallen out of fashion. Pointing out enthusiasts from Louis XVI to Napoleon, particularly the latter's dream of mounting a surprise invasion of England by air, Poujol published this small philosophical dream in the hope of encouraging renewed efforts by the inventors of the age. It is consequently a highly unusual example of an early work arguing for flight pure and simple as the next great breakthrough.

Very rare, with only a handful of copies recorded internationally (including the BNF).