Beschreibung:

Biggin (George). A Letter Addressed to a Female Friend, by Mrs Sage, the First English Female Aerial Traveller; Describing the General Appearance and Effects of Her Expedition with Mr Lunardi's Balloon; which Ascended from St George's Fields on Wednesday, 29th June, 1785, third edition, printed for the writer, [1785], 32 pp., some heavy browning to title, a little spotting, title and final page slightly dust-soiled, ex libris William A.M. Burden with his book ticket to front pastedown, modern cloth-backed boards gilt, together with [Lunardi, Vincenzo, An Account of the First Aerial Voyage in England..., first edition, 1784], 66 pp. plus final explanation leaf of the plates, lacks half-title and full title-pages and both plates, old heavy damp staining and repairs to inner margins throughout, modern quarter morocco, spine darkened, a little rubbed, both slim 8vo (Qty: 2) Provenance: From the ballooning collection of Wilf Woollett. Printed three times in 1785 but ESTC N10835 locates only four copies of this edition (one in Germany and three USA). Letitia Ann Sage (c. 1750-1817) was the first British woman to fly, recording her experiences in this short publication. A flight was first planned by Vincenzo Lunardi in September 1784, but the weight proved too great to allow the balloon to get off the ground, and Mrs Sage was obliged to get out, her place being taken by three animals; a pigeon, a cat and a dog. For this rescheduled event on 29 June 1785, Lunardi's friend and assistant George Biggin, who had financed the flight joined Mrs Sage in the balloon. They were in the air for an hour and a half, during which time they ate a meal and drank some wine, discarding the bottle over the side. They came to rest in a farmer's field near Harrow.