France - France 1870/71 Balloon Mail “LE VILLE D’ORLEANS”
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 | €145 | |
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 | €135 | |
| €125 | |
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A used French 1870/71 Ballon Monté letter, titled “LE VILLE D’ORLEANS”, franked with a 30-centime stamp and carried by balloon during the siege of Paris.
AI-assisted summary
Description from the seller
Historical letter franked and sent via "Ballon Monté" (balloon) during the Siege of Paris in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.
Main details of the item:
Historical context: During the Franco-Prussian War, Paris was completely surrounded and isolated. To maintain communications with the rest of France and abroad, aerostatic balloons were used to transport mail (the so-called primordial air mail).
The specific Flight "Le Ville d'Orléans":
The balloon "Le Ville d'Orléans" took off from Paris, at Gare du Nord, on the night of 24 November 1870 at 23:40 with about 250-300 kg of mail and carrier pigeons aboard. The "Le Ville d'Orléans" became famous for completing one of the most eventful, dramatic, and lengthy crossings of the entire balloon monté saga. Driven by extremely strong winds and aided by dense fog, the balloon lost its course and ended up making a dramatic and historic journey, landing miraculously after a full 15 hours of flight and about 1300 kilometres traveled, in Lifjell (in the municipality of Seljord, Telemark county), while the mail sacks on board (and those later recovered at sea or recovered by local authorities) were picked up by the Norwegian and Swedish postal services, who forwarded them by land and sea to Great Britain. From there, the correspondence was finally sorted to final destinations, including Belgium. Because of this incredible detour, letters like this reached Brussels only in early December 1870, bearing the marks and the charm of an extraordinary journey.
The crew:
On board were the pilot Léonard Bézier and a passenger, the famed official Emmanuel Denis, who carried important secret messages from the government to coordinate the forces in the Loire region.
Address / Recipient:
Letter addressed to a noblewoman, “Madame Elisa Jouffroy,” at M. S. Lambert, bank in Brussels (Belgium).
Starting and arrival markings:
Circular postmark with the inscription PARIS R. ST. LAZARE dated 23 Nov. 70 (23 November 1870) and arrival postmark in Brussels (Belgium) on 06 December 1870.
Stamp:
A 30 centimes brown specimen of the Imperial French Series (Cérès / Empire Français), cancelled with a star-shaped mark and the number 2 of Paris R. St. Lazare on 23 November 1870.
Cancellations:
There is the red P.D. (Payé Destination / Porto Pagato fino a destinazione) stamp present (Courrier de Mandal) and a handwritten note Ballon Monté.
Historical letter franked and sent via "Ballon Monté" (balloon) during the Siege of Paris in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.
Main details of the item:
Historical context: During the Franco-Prussian War, Paris was completely surrounded and isolated. To maintain communications with the rest of France and abroad, aerostatic balloons were used to transport mail (the so-called primordial air mail).
The specific Flight "Le Ville d'Orléans":
The balloon "Le Ville d'Orléans" took off from Paris, at Gare du Nord, on the night of 24 November 1870 at 23:40 with about 250-300 kg of mail and carrier pigeons aboard. The "Le Ville d'Orléans" became famous for completing one of the most eventful, dramatic, and lengthy crossings of the entire balloon monté saga. Driven by extremely strong winds and aided by dense fog, the balloon lost its course and ended up making a dramatic and historic journey, landing miraculously after a full 15 hours of flight and about 1300 kilometres traveled, in Lifjell (in the municipality of Seljord, Telemark county), while the mail sacks on board (and those later recovered at sea or recovered by local authorities) were picked up by the Norwegian and Swedish postal services, who forwarded them by land and sea to Great Britain. From there, the correspondence was finally sorted to final destinations, including Belgium. Because of this incredible detour, letters like this reached Brussels only in early December 1870, bearing the marks and the charm of an extraordinary journey.
The crew:
On board were the pilot Léonard Bézier and a passenger, the famed official Emmanuel Denis, who carried important secret messages from the government to coordinate the forces in the Loire region.
Address / Recipient:
Letter addressed to a noblewoman, “Madame Elisa Jouffroy,” at M. S. Lambert, bank in Brussels (Belgium).
Starting and arrival markings:
Circular postmark with the inscription PARIS R. ST. LAZARE dated 23 Nov. 70 (23 November 1870) and arrival postmark in Brussels (Belgium) on 06 December 1870.
Stamp:
A 30 centimes brown specimen of the Imperial French Series (Cérès / Empire Français), cancelled with a star-shaped mark and the number 2 of Paris R. St. Lazare on 23 November 1870.
Cancellations:
There is the red P.D. (Payé Destination / Porto Pagato fino a destinazione) stamp present (Courrier de Mandal) and a handwritten note Ballon Monté.
Details
Era
1400-1900
Over 200 years old
No
Geographic origin
France
Condition
Postal used
Title
France 1870/71 Balloon Mail “LE VILLE D’ORLEANS”
Has certificate
Yes
Has expert signature
Yes
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