Filling a balloon with hydrogen gas, plate 3 from the book 'Description des experiences de la machine aerostatique de MM.de Montgolfier', by Faujas de Saint-Fond (Paris, 1783).

Scene showing the inflation of a balloon by hydrogen gas piped from a barrel. The gas was produced by the reaction of sulphuric acid and iron.
A preliminary balloon of this type was flown at the Champ de Mars in Paris, France on the 27 August 1783 an event witnessed by Benjamin Franklin.
Plate 3 from the book 'Description des experiences de la machine aerostatique de MM.de Montgolfier, by Faujas de Saint-Fond (Paris, 1783). This hydrogen balloon was designed by Jacques Alexandre Cesar Charles (1746-1823) and the Robert Brothers, Anne-Jean Robert (1758-1820) and Nicolas-Louis Robert (1760-1820).