Commemorative Medals, Numismatic Books

France, Ballons Dirigeables, 1885, a bronze medal by H.A.J. Patey, figure of Science pointing to airship flying at Chalais-Meudon, BALLONS DIRIGEABLES, etc, rev. Daedalus strapping wings to Icarus, 72mm (PBE 660; BDM IV, 426; CGMP p.300; Button Sale, 1979, no.19; cf. BDW 5, lot 3). Very fine, rare £70-100

In 1884 Charles Renard and Arthur C. Krebs, inventors and military officers in the French Army Corps of Engineers, built an elongated balloon, La France, which was the first airship that could return to its starting point in a light wind. It was 165 feet long, its maximum diameter was 27 feet, and it had a capacity of 66,000 cubic feet. It was propelled by a 7.5 hp battery-powered electric motor which drove a 23-foot four-bladed wooden tractor propeller. La France made seven flights in all, the first on 9 August 1884