[Nadar with His Wife, Ernestine, in a Balloon]

Nadar

ca. 1865, printed 1890s · Gelatin silver print from glass negative · Photographs

In this publicity print, the charismatic portrait photographer Nadar—who in 1858 had captured the first overhead views of Paris from a hot-air balloon—poses with his wife in a balloon gondola rigged up inside his studio. The science-fiction writer Jules Verne modeled the hero of his moon-journey novels on Nadar (the character’s surname, Ardan, is an anagram). Verne and Nadar were both members of the Society for the Encouragement of Aerial Locomotion by Means of Machines Heavier Than Air, a group of visionaries dedicated to raising funds for the construction of helicopter-like flying machines, which met at Nadar’s Paris studio.

Artist

Nadar

Date

ca. 1865, printed 1890s

Medium

Gelatin silver print from glass negative

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Gilman Collection, Museum Purchase, 2005