Count Francesco Zambeccari was an Italian aviation pioneer who launched the first (unmanned) balloon in Britain in the year 1783. His later adventures were less successful and Zambeccari and his compagnons had to be rescued from the Adriatic twice, in 1803 and 1804. The count was less lucky in 1812, when his balloon caught fire after an unsuccessful landing attempt and he perished.

The eighth card from an uncut set of ten, labeled "Collection 476, 2ème série", issued by Romanet & Cie. in the late 19th Century, to commemorate events in ballooning history from 1795 to 1846.

From the Tissandier Collection at the U.S. Library of Congress. More early flight collecting cards | More Tissandier Collection items