Beschreibung:

AERONAUTICS -- [POCOCK, George]. The Aeropleustic Art or Navigation in the Air by the Use of Kites or Buoyant Sails . [London: W. Wilson ?for the author, 1827]. 4° (315 x 245mm). Engraved title by A. Adlard with hand-coloured aquatint vignette by P. Roberts, 3 hand-coloured aquatint plates, 2 signed by Roberts, one after T. Butterworth, the other after S. Colman. (Two plates detached, text leaves loose, spotted and occasionally dust-soiled, tear to margin of F2.) Original paper-backed boards with printed cover label (spine worn). Provenance : J. Whittuck 1828 (inscription on label).
AERONAUTICS -- [POCOCK, George]. The Aeropleustic Art or Navigation in the Air by the Use of Kites or Buoyant Sails . [London: W. Wilson ?for the author, 1827]. 4° (315 x 245mm). Engraved title by A. Adlard with hand-coloured aquatint vignette by P. Roberts, 3 hand-coloured aquatint plates, 2 signed by Roberts, one after T. Butterworth, the other after S. Colman. (Two plates detached, text leaves loose, spotted and occasionally dust-soiled, tear to margin of F2.) Original paper-backed boards with printed cover label (spine worn). Provenance : J. Whittuck 1828 (inscription on label). FIRST EDITION. The eccentric Bristol schoolmaster, George Pocock, dedicated this work to his ex-kite-flying pupils. Recognising the force of wind power, it provides a history of the kite as a scientific invention, and examines its potential adaptations as a kind of ascending parachute for mariners before describing the famous Charvolant, a kite-powered carriage capable of speeds of twenty miles per hour. The vignette shows a rescue at sea by means of a kite, while the three plates illustrate a kite-powered 'Boat Race', the 'Patent Kite and Charvolant' and 'Charvolants travelling in various directions in the same wind'. The work drew serious attention as well as satire, and a second edition appeared in 1851. See front cover illustration .