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Title: City of Rochelle |
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Description: City of Rochelle. A Fall into the Void from 2,000 meters. Sunday the 2nd and Monday the 3rd of August 1914. "The parachute opens at a height of 50 meters." Georges Ravaine, Aeronaute; Andre Melin, Aviator-Parachutist. Although Leonardo da Vinci first made sketches of a parachute in the 16th century, the first successful parachute jump was not made until 1797. In the early 1800’s the apparatus and technique was perfected and by the mid-nineteenth century, parachuting had become a popular form of outdoor entertainment at carnivals and fairs throughout Europe and America. Promoted as a dangerous and daring stunt, a parachute jump usually drew large crowds who were eager to pay the admission fee and see if the parachutist could truly survive the hazardous drop. It was very profitable for the organizers - the parachutist was always paid afterwards so that money was not wasted on an unsuccessful jump. "A Fall into the Void," the jump advertised on this 1914 poster, was typical of these carnival events in its promotion of danger and excitement. The title is also an apt description of the way that most parachute jumps were made at the time, which was more of a drop than a jump. The parachutist was attached to the bottom of a balloon basket with his equipment. The balloon ascended to the appropriate altitude (in this case 2,000 meters, about 6,500 feet) where the parachutist disengaged himself from the balloon. The parachutist then fell free, the chute opened at around 50 meters (only about 165 feet) and floated to the earth. The balloonist would then go pick the jumper up and bring him back to the fairgrounds to show the crowd that he had survived, and also to pick up their salaries. |
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