The Ariel Flying Machine, a lithographic print by Ackermann dated 1843

(The Aerial Transit Company) Henson, William Samuel; Stringfellow, John. The "Ariel" Flying Machine. An early aviation proposal.
 
London, Ackermann & Co., Strand, published March 28th, 1843.
 
Lithographic print, 430 x 330 mm (sheet), image 310 x 230 mm, on wove paper, with full engraved caption and dedication beneath the image. Uncoloured. Light overall toning; mount burn to verso from a previous framing, faintly visible at the margins; a few small tears and creases to the upper edge; otherwise a clean and well-preserved example with full margins. Very good. 
 
The print relates to the well-known but ultimately unsuccessful aviation project of William Samuel Henson and John Stringfellow, who in 1843 established the Aerial Transit Company to promote a steam-powered flying machine intended to carry "letters, goods and passengers from place to place through the air". Such images formed part of a wider publicity campaign designed to attract investors, presenting the "Ariel" in operation decades before the practical realisation of powered flight. Although experimental models were constructed, the project failed.
 
Ackermann & Co., leading London print publishers, obliged with leading the promotional material, and produced this plus several others showing the Ariel in flight through a range of English and more tropical landscapes.