The Nadars, a photographic legend

The Nadars

fr

Paris, Place de l’Étoile, eight views taken from the Henri Giffard, a tethered balloon

Félix Nadar, 1868

Plate composed of eight views from collodion glass negatives, 23 x 28.8 cm.
BnF, Prints and Photographs Department, EO-15 (11)-FOL
© Bibliothèque nationale de France
Over the summer of 1868, Giffard's tethered balloon, which had been built for the 1867 World's Fair, was operated by Arnauld at the Hippodrome racetrack, then located between what are now Bugeaud and Malakoff Avenues. The balloon's remarkable stability allowed Nadar to take sharp photographs.