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Posted By: Bob Manning

From http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/balloonhoax.html.



This may give us a lead, if only because the balloon is described as "ellipsoidal," and 1843 is the date of hoax. (And the hoaxer was Edgar Allen Poe!) Obviously the images aren't identical, but it may be someone else's rendition of the same event. Also notable is that, at the end of the 19th century, balloon cards were, um, on the rise among collectors. Perhaps what started out as a perfectly normal hot air balloon card ended up being perverted on the back of something later called a T206.

Neat card!


Bob