of all the ascents from Cheltenham could be obtained from the files of the different papers of the time.
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1 Hampton made this descent on October 3rd, 1838, at the Montpellier Gardens, Cheltenham.
From Mr Henry Coxwell, Aeronaut. 20 Paternoster Row, London, August 14, 1845.
The gap of over two years in the record of the correspondence is unexplained. Henry Tracy Coxwell, a 26-year-old, while following his profession as a dentist, had already made something of a name for himself as a balloonist.
I have really been so busy since your kind letter arrived, that I have been unable to answer several communications respecting my little balloon, allow me, however, now that I have my pen in hand, to thank you for the good feeling you expressed for the success of the magazine. I possess all the works, prints, etc, on ballooning, but it may happen that at some time or other your collections might be useful. Will you kindly inform me on what terms you propose to let me have anything you possess? I think you must be mistaken about Green’s ascent at Beverley, should it however be true, perhaps you will forward a paper with an account and I will in turn send next month’s publication to you.
From Mr Henry Coxwell, 20 Paternoster Row, London, September 6, 1845.
If you have not got one of No. 2 of the Balloon, and will let me know, I will forward it by post. Allow me to enquire if you are disposed to contribute any information which you possess about a long voyage that M. Garnerin performed? I wish it to come in the article on the trip to Nassau. Have you the particulars of the death of Count Zambeccani?1
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Excuse the abrupt way in which I put these questions, but I am obliged to be brief and explicit, as I have a number of letters to answer. I shall be glad at all times to hear from you, and if you wish the insertion of an article with your name, you may command it.
From Mr Henry Coxwell, 20 Paternoster Row, London, October 7, 1845.
The ‘practical aeronaut’ Coxwell believes Brown to be is in fact a Charles Brown of Sheffield, a balloonist who had an erratic career in the air.
Having been out of the town since the first of the month, many important duties have been neglected, and amongst them a letter and a magazine to you. No. 3 I have sent by post and beg that in future you will not purchase. Your observations having been highly interesting to me and you will find that I have made use of them. I very much wish that you would contribute an article this month with all your information it would give little trouble, and few scientific men dislike appearing in print. Pray may I enquire if you are the practical aeronaut whose name is familiar to my ear? I see the Christian name is the same and fancy that it is so.
There should have been another section of my car. The way it is represented in the water would be the last resource, when the balloon could no longer hold up her head all the time she could do so it would be well to allow the car to hang as usual.
I like your idea about the parachute, but I hope you do not mean to keep your ideas to yourself, let them rather benefit you and mankind. I should like to have one or two letter this next month, just to show the opinions of scientific men, about the magazine, etc., and what good it is likely to lead to. If you have a few leisure hours and like to amuse yourself, I shall be happy to receive your contributions. I think next season our publication will lead to some useful ascents. We have lost no time in paving the way, and have done much good already.
To the Editor of the Balloon, or Aerostatic Magazine. 25 Canning Street, Leeds, October 14, 1845.
This article was intended for publication in Coxwell’s magazine. In part it would have provided the reader with the information concerning the death of Zambaccari that Coxwell had earlier requested. The article was not published.
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Sir, since the first discovery of balloons by Montgolfier, very little improvement has been made in those machines. The one used by Messrs Charles and Robert, was varnished, had a valve and a net, as is the case with balloons at present in use.2 Still do we hear of perilous aerial voyages, the bursting of balloons, frightful descents and narrow escapes of aeronauts from destruction. A balloon on Montgolfier’s plan is the safest of the two kinds but requires the following alterations to render it perfect. In the first place the cloth of which it is composed must be made fire-proof, and this can be affected by soaking it for about half an hour in a solution of hydro-chloride, more generally known as the muriate of ammonia or sul-ammonia, and the phosphate of ammonia, equal parts. If prepared as above and afterwards held over a fire, the cloth will not burn. The aperture at the bottom of the balloon should be at least 12 feet in diameter, and the grapnel should be suspended from the hoop which is fastened round the neck to keep the latter from closing. By this contrivance the neck of the balloon would, on the grapnel catching firm held, be laid flat on the ground, if the cords by which the car was suspended were of sufficient length to admit of it and the wind, instead of blowing into the balloon, would press on the sides and discharge the air through a valve which should be placed in the top of the machine. A valve on Mr Hampton’s plan would be most suitable for a balloon of this kind. This valve would also be of great service to the aeronaut while in the air, particularly if he wished to descend rapidly on a particular spot. Within the aperture at the bottom of the balloon there should be inserted the grate, or fire-place which should be about three feet in diameter, the fuel to consist of wool soaked in spirits of wine or turpentine, which have always been found to answer the best.
The size of the balloon would of course depend on the weight intended to be carried. One of Montgolfier’s which measured 117 feet in circumference and was merely joined by buttons and holes, had an ascending power of 490 pounds besides its own weight which was 500 pounds. One of 43 feet in diameter, and 74 feet in height and which weighed 1,000 pounds, ←17 | 18→raised eight persons from the ground. Another, 43 feet in diameter and 60 feet high, was found to have a force of ascension of 600 pounds besides its own weight. The machine which ascended from Lyons on the 19th January 1784, raised a weight of 15,600 pounds to a height of 3,132 feet. Its height was 131 feet and its diameter 104 feet.
That a Montgolfier balloon on the above plan is superior to one filled with gas is evident from the following. It cannot burst or take fire, as has often been the case with gas balloons. It was through the taking fire of Count Zambeccari’s and Madame Blanchard’s balloons that they lost their lives, and both balloons were filled with hydrogen gas. M. Blanchard broke his leg on one occasion from his balloon bursting. Madame Blanchard’s burst in Poland and she narrowly escaped. Sig. Andreani, who was one of the first aeronauts, and had previously employed a Montgolfier balloon, made an ascent with Carlo Brioschi in 1806, in a gas balloon. In trying to rise higher than M. Gay Lussoic had done they got into so rarefied an atmosphere that the balloon burst. They however reached the earth safely. Mr Clayton, and Mr Wise, two American aeronauts, narrowly escaped being killed from their balloons bursting.
Nearly all the accidents that have happened with Montgolfier balloons, have been through the machines taking fire, so that if they had been constructed on the plan prepared above, these might all have been prevented.
From Mr Henry Coxwell, 20 Shepparton Cottages, New North Road, Hoxton, October 16, 1845.
I suppose by this time you have received No. 3, which was kept at the office by mistake. I am not sorry to find that like myself
