Illustration Artwork for the Graphic showing Alberto Santos-Dumont inspecting the Wreckage of his Dirigible on the Roof of the Trocadero Restaurant, Paris.
PAGET, (H[enry], M[arriott])
Worked en grisaille, 14" x 9". Very good on greyish paper-stock, caption article attached at the lower edge. Initialled by Paget, n.d. [1901]
Based on a photograph by "J. Beau, Paris" this illustration shows Santos-Dumont supervising the removal of the wreckage of SD No.4/5 from the roof of the Trocadero buildings.
This was the aftermath of his third attempt to win the 100,000F prize offered by Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe for a successful flight from the French Aero Club's Parc d'Aerostation at Saint-Cloud to the Eiffel Tower and back in less than half an hour. Santos-Dumont's craft of choice was an adaptation of the fourth in his series of light-weight dirigibles. Santos-Dumont No.4 was built before the end of 1900. It had a long thin envelope of just under 15,000 cu. ft. capacity, which supported just a single spar in place of a gondola. To this pole were attached a tractor propellor, a 9 h.p. petrol engine, fuel, ballast and a bicycle seat for the pilot. The design made many test flights before it was transformed into Santos-Dumont No.5 in the summer of 1901. The pole gave way to a lattice-work girder made of wood in triangular cross-sections, while the engine was up-rated to a 16 h.p. Buchet motor weighing 215 lb. The traditional wicker basket reappeared as pilot's accommodation. The No.5 was also notable in its use of piano wire to connect gondola to envelope.The first attempt ended in a forced landing, the second took him just over forty minutes, on this, the third, the gas-bag developed a serious leak and he crashed into the rooftops. His next attempt in SD No.6 on October 19th, 1901 was a success, proving finally that the dirigible was a practical craft for aerial navigation.
Paget was one of the Graphic's most accomplished artists, trained at the Royal Academy Schools and later working as an artist correspondent for the Sphere covering the Balkan War of 1912-3 amongst other important news events.
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