Litho Print Montgolfier 1785 Globe pour etre dirige

[DANTE5]

Hello Everyone,

I need your help please !  I am having a challenge identifying the origin of this lithograph. A balloon print of the 18th century and Regency period.  Originally printed in 1785, this image possibly circa in the early 20th century.  One of the most sought after Globe pour etre dirige balloon prints.  It is a lithograph print with litho-offset on very high quality creamy white paper.  Blank on reverse. The geometrical pattern seems to be dots in a row, but that's just what I think. No markings other than the titles. The actual size of the print is approx. 3 ¼” x   4 ½” (8.3 cm x 11.4 cm), there is a small margin around the image and the framed size is approx. 6” x 7 ¼”(15.2 cm x 18.4 cm).  This is the original frame, which has a gold leaf finish. 
Condition: Print has obvious signs of aging, no tears, some spotting.  Some note of the history is that the previous collector had several litho's in their collection of the same size. They appear to be art cards of some sort.  More exact two other images was amongst the collection, i.e. one of the "View From Gowanus Heights, Brooklyn" and the other of "The Park and City Hall, New York".  All images framed in same manner and same paper. ??

By examining the print the description above is the most I can determine, however it seems to have quite a bit of character and I am having a bit of anxiety about the history because I can not determine it's origin.    Any help out there on this one would be greatly appreciated.
   

[DANTE5]

Hi,

I wanted to add the image that had the titles which I omitted in error.  Thanks

[Skinny]

This doesn't look like a lithograph to me. Perhaps some other printing process. Maybe a print that is hand colored? Hard to determine the age. I'll take a stab at it and say late 19th century. The paper is somewhat darkened, which looks to me like a wood pulp paper. These came into use heavily in from the 1870's on. The wood pulp has a higher acid content which would darken the paper over time, whereas the older rag paper had less acid and tended to stay a bit whiter. Also, (in my opinion) if this was say pre 1840, you should be able to see some vertical lines and textures in the paper. This stuff looks pretty modern to me. I've learned a bit about paper manufacture and printing through my book collecting.

[D&b antiques]

Well said & high Quality paper is often used for ''Fake''s

[DANTE5]

Thank you, skinny, D&B.  Skinny-thank you for some valuable information that you share and I appreciate that. 

I did however over step a little and in my initial posting I mentioned that the image was printed in the early 20th century 19??, my bad. 

[DANTE5]

I corrected the info of circa date in the original post.  Thanks again skinny for bringing that to my attention.

[D&b antiques]

Regardless it's nice. Sotheby's & Christies auction's, are swamped daily with fake art litho's etc. & some are very good.

[sapphire]

Looks like it was printed in the 1950's

http://www.finerareprints.com/print_detail.html?stock_no=16826


A bit of the history of hot air ballooning, pic of your print included.

http://www.ballooning.co.uk/education-balloonhistory.php

[DANTE5]

Thanks sapphire for info.  I visited both sites prior to requesting the help from the forum.  If you notice the image at fine rare arts site is of a different color and described as a lithograph.  I believe the date of print could be early 1950's. Also as noted by skinny some type of printing with hand coloring.  I am now working on determining the type of printing. 

[sapphire]

Oops     Shouldn't do this and cook dinner at the same time. That'll teach me to pay more attention to detail. 

[DANTE5]

Sapphire...no problem  .  I am going to scan image directly on the scanner for a better image, (not sure if that is recommended).  I actually removed image from frame to examine it but was a little uncomfortable placing it on the scanner.  But I would like to learn more about it if possible because the framed images did little justice.  New Image Attached.

[sapphire]

Dantes, these are prints available at Fine Rare Prints.  Seems like your balloon got the colors of another balloon. Any example of your print I have found has had the red/yellow combination.  Maybe if you contacted the owners of this site they would be able to give you some insight?

http://www.finerareprints.com/vol-travel-hot-air-balloons.html

[sapphire]

Oh!!  I only just noticed the difference in the height of the mast/column descending from the balloon.  Well that certainly throws another kink in it!! 

[D&b antiques]

Zooming  in on your new photos. the paper texture appears to lean///// 1800's

[DANTE5]

Thanks Sappire you are a jewel...
D&B..one of the reasons I was so curious of its origin is because of the paper texture.....