The Nadars, a photographic legend

The Nadars

fr

Paris, Champ-de-Mars, preparing for the 2nd flight of the Géant

Félix Nadar, 18 october 1863

Albumen print from a collodion glass negative, 11 x 16.5 cm.
BnF, Prints and Photographs Department, EO-15 (11)-FOL
© Bibliothèque nationale de France
For this second flight, Félix Nadar included a standard-sized balloon in order to make his own vessel's exceptional size more blatant. Napoleon III and the Prince of Wales both chose to personally attend the Géant's second lift-off: the first one had attracted 200,000 spectators.