Dome

Six small hand-colored etchings and one collaged element, all circular designs depicting a balloon carrying two aeronauts holding flags labeled "G" and "S." In two etchings the balloon reads "Sparrow," with "nails and sauce" and "Bishopsgate" written on either side. In two other etchings, the balloon reads "Godfrey," with "a pewter toy maker" and "Artillery Lane Bishopsgate" written on either side. The six etchings surround a slightly larger blue square with a sun-shaped design featuring the same design, with "Sparrow" on the balloon and "ironmonger/balloon house/Bishopsgate/London" at the perimeter and a rhyme about the balloon as a vehicle for transcending "Mortal Earth." Likely prints issued by Isaac Earlysman Sparrow, a London Ironmonger with an interest in balloons, who also commissioned several medals, or "Sparrow farthings" to commemorate his ascents.For more information about this item, visit https://archivesspace.mit.edu/repositories/2/digital_objects/357