Astra Castra Collection

Robertsons Minerve balloon, 1804
Robertsons Minerve balloon. Historical artwork of La Minerve, an extravagant balloon design proposed in 1804 by the French engineer E. G. Robertson

US Civil War observation balloon, 19th century artwork. The balloon, near Gaines Mill, Virginia, USA, is being inflated by gas being piped through tubes from the containers at left

Gusmaos Passarola airship, 1709
Gusmaos Passarola airship. Historical artwork of the Passarola airship design that was proposed in 1709 by the Portuguese priest and naturalist Bartolomeu de Gusmao (1685-1724)

Atlas supporting the sky, 19th century artwork. Shown here standing on the globe of the Earth and supporting the starry sky on his shoulders, Atlas was a Titan described in Ancient Greek mythology

Global wind patterns. Historical illustration of global air circulation, 1855. This model was designed by Matthew Fonataine Maury (1806-1873), a US naval lieutenant who was also an oceanographer

First overnight balloon flight, 1836
First overnight balloon flight. Historical artwork of the first overnight balloon flight, which used coal gas and took place from 7-8 November 1836

The future of air travel, 1865
The future of air travel. Historical artwork of a 19th century vision of 20th century air travel, depicting airships flying over a sea. Taken from Astra Castra, (Hatton Turner, London 1865)

Sorcery and flight. This nineteenth century artwork is showing the history of sorcery and flight in medieval times. There were stories of magical flights by witches, wizards, and the like

Lana Terzis airship, 17th century
Lana Terzis airship. Historical artwork of the airship design proposed by the Italian priest and mathematics and physics professor Francesco Lana Terzi (1631-1687)

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