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Taking to the Air

An Illustrated History of Flight

Lily Ford
From the crowds at balloon launches in the 1780s to the millions who watched the Moon landings on television in 1969, people have been fascinated by the spectacle of flight. Focusing on the experience of spectators rather than aviators, this history draws on the British Library’s diverse collection of printed imagery – including posters, book jackets and wartime propaganda – to trace the cultural impact of flight up to the ‘Space Age’. 
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Product information:
  • Publisher: British Library
  • Year: 2018
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 224pp
  • Illustrated: Yes
  • Dimensions: 247x170mm
  • ISBN: 9780712352611
  • Condition: New
  • Weight: 0.7kg
Product code:
516781
Product information
Full publisher description
The possibilities of flight have long fascinated us. Each innovation captivated a broad public, from those who gathered to witness winged medieval visionaries jumping from towers, to those who tuned in to watch the moon landings.

Throughout history, the visibility of airborne objects from the ground has made for a spectacle of flight, with sizeable crowds gathering for eighteenth-century balloon launches and early twentieth-century air shows. Taking to the Air tells the history of flight through the eye of the spectator, and later, the passenger.

Focusing on moments of great cultural impact, this book is a visual celebration of the wonder of flight, based on the large and diverse collection of print imagery held by the British Library. It is a study of how flight has been thought and pictured.
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