Picture of a Balloon

Currently not on view

Picture of a Balloon

1861

Baisotei Gengyo (Japanese, 1817–1880) Published by Kagiya Shōbei, Kagiya Engraved by Koizumi Kanegorō

This image is a close copy of an illustration from the published diary of a member of the first Japanese embassy sent to tour the United States in 1860. One of the highlights of the trip was the launch of two hot air balloons that took place in Philadelphia to celebrate the ambassadors' visit. The Japanese had never before seen hot air balloons, and descriptions of the human flying machines stirred the imagination of many Japanese artists who were making designs for prints, resulting in a proliferation of hot air balloon imagery, particularly in depictions of the United States.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Titles:

Picture of a Balloon
From Camera Views

Date:

1861

Artists:

Baisotei Gengyo (Japanese, 1817–1880) Published by Kagiya Shōbei, Kagiya Engraved by Koizumi Kanegorō

Medium:

Color woodcut

Dimensions:

Sheet (Ōban tate-e): 14 × 9 3/8 inches (35.6 × 23.8 cm)

Classification:

Prints

Credit Line:

Purchased with the Lola Downin Peck Fund and with funds contributed by Lessing J. Rosenwald, Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Hauslohner, Dr. Emanuel Wolff, the Derald and Janet Ruttenberg Foundation, Mrs. Edward G. Budd, Jr., and David P. Willis, 1968

Accession Number:

1968-165-26

Geography:

Made in Japan, Asia

Context:

Period: Edo Period (1615-1868)

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Currently not on view