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Krainik Ballooning Collection

National Air and Space Museum

Object Details

Creator
Krainik, Cliff
Names
Brady, Mathew B., approximately 1823-1896
Lowe, Thaddeus S. C.
Myers, Carl, 1842-1925
Myers, Mary, "Carlotta Queen of the Air"
Stevens, Albert Leo, 1873-1944
Topic
Great Western (Airship)
Phantom Balloons (Airships)
Airships
World War, 1914-1918
Aeronautics
Madame Carlotta (Airship)
The Aerial (Airship)
Works of art
Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905
South African War, 1899-1902
Buffalo (Airship)
Aeronautics -- 1903-1916
Aeronautics -- pre-1903
Ganymede (Airship)
Balloons
Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Communications
Balloons -- History
Balloons -- pre-1900
Spanish-American War, 1898
Provenance
Clifford Krainik, Purchase, 1989, 1990-0009, NASM
Creator
Krainik, Cliff
See more items in
Krainik Ballooning Collection
Summary
This 19th and 20th century ballooning memorabilia collection contains the following items, which have been meticulously inventoried: 112 stereoscopic photographs; 107 photographs; 84 postcards, trade cards, valentines, and similar items; 80 prints; and 23 miscellaneous items.
Biographical / Historical
The Krainik Ballooning Collection was amassed by Clifford and Michele Krainik, experts in 19th and early 20th century historical photographs, negatives, and ephemera. This collection of 19th and 20th century ballooning memorabilia contains 112 stereoscopic photographs; 107 photographs; 84 postcards, trade cards, valentines, and similar items; 80 prints; and 23 miscellaneous items.
Extent
3.19 Cubic feet (2 shoeboxes; 3 flatboxes)
Date
1859-1934
Archival Repository
National Air and Space Museum Archives
Identifier
NASM.1990.0009
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Stereoscopic photographs
Postcards
Photographs
Woodcuts
Citation
Krainik Ballooning Collection, Acc. 1990-0009, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Arrangement note
This collection has been arranged, first, in chronological order based on the Krainik inventory number that was assigned by the donor (K#), and then by size.
Processing Information
This collection was rehoused by Allan Janus in 1991. A paper inventory was provided by the Krainiks. The collection was re-processed and an EAD finding aid encoded by Amanda Buel in 2017.
Rights
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Genre/Form
Stereoscopic photographs
Postcards
Photographs
Woodcuts
Scope and Contents
The Krainik Ballooning Collection contains 112 stereoscopic photographs; 107 photographs; 84 postcards, trade cards, valentines, and similar items; 80 prints; and 23 miscellaneous items all pertaining to 19th and 20th century ballooning. Highlights of the stereoscopic photographs include: views of T.S.C. Lowe's balloons during the Civil War; views of the Nadar and Godard balloons; balloons during the Boer War, Russo-Japanese War, and WWI; and views of the airships Ganymede, Great Western, Phantom Balloons, Buffalo, Madame Carlotta, and The Aerial. The photographic portion of the collection features Matthew Brady's views of Lowe's balloons during the Civil War; views of the balloon Madam Carlotta before and during flights; smoke and gas balloon inflation and flights; and portraits of T.S.C. Lowe and other pioneers of ballooning. The collection also contains lithographic cards printed in Germany, whimsical advertising trade cards incorporating popular ballooning motifs and events, and 19th century woodcut illustrations from various periodicals concerning all aspects of ballooning. Other items include a small broadside for the Grand Balloon Ascension of CARLOTTA and a contract for smoke balloon ascensions. A few non-archival items, such as medals for Lowe's balloon, City of New York, and Giffard's giant captive balloon, 1878, were accessioned with this collection and subsequently transferred to curatorial collections. Note: The digital images in this finding aid were repurposed from scans made by an outside contractor for a commercial product and may show irregular cropping and orientation in addition to color variations resulting from damage to and deterioration of the original objects.
Restrictions
No restrictions on access
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1504707005552-1504707005592-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg2db559718-00f7-49aa-a75b-24d135444721

In the Collection

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  • "To My Valentine." Young boy in balloon basket with valentine in hand

  • "32338. Inflation with Hydrogen Gas of a Copy of First Balloon Flown in American, Jan 9, 1793. Virginia"

  • Untitled. View of French fishing boats on shore. When backlit, the scene changes to night and a balloon appears

  • "J.J.V.V. July 1, 1911." Van Valkenburgh in basket of Boston on solo flight. Number nine in a series of fifteen items

  • Untitled. Award ceremony. Group portrait including Amuel Archer King (at left with long beard) and Charles K. Hamilton (center)

  • "Officer in the car of an observation balloon testing the telephone." Close-up view of wicker balloon basket

  • "Donaldson's Fate -- The Ascent From The Chicago Hippodrome, July 15, 1875." The last flight of the flamboyant balloonist

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Krainik Ballooning Collection
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
View manifest View in Mirador Viewer
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