FAUJAS DE SAINT-FOND, [Barthélémy]. Description of the experiments of the aerostatic machine of MM. de Montgolfier, and of those to which this discovery gave place; Followed by Researches on the height to which the Balloon of Champ-de-Mars reached; on the route which it held; on the different degrees of gravity of the air in the layers of the atmosphere; Of a Memorandum on the inflammable gas; Of a Letter on the means of directing these Machines; Work decorated with nine plates in intaglio, representing the various Machines which were built until this day, particularly that of Versailles, & that in which the men were raised to the height of 324 feet, &c. &c. Paris: Cuchet, 1783. First edition, in-8; xl, 299p., [7p. Approval, Privilege, Supplement, Errata], 9 plates, the n° V placed in frontispiece; folding table, bands, culs-de-lampe. WITH: FAUJAS DE SAINT-FOND, [Barthélemy]. First Suite of the Description of the aerostatic experiments of MM. de Montgolfier. And of those to which this discovery gave place; Containing: The aerial trips of the Muette, of the Tuileries, of Lyon, of Milan, of the Champ-de-Mars, &c.; Several Memoirs of MM. de Montgolfier & of M. le Comte de Milly, on the manner of directing Aerostats, on the dilation of air & the simplest & least dangerous means of increasing or decreasing the heat at will; Different ways of obtaining inflammable air & the means of filling a Globe 30 feet in diameter with it in two hours; A Memoir on elastic gum or rubber, with the manner of making a varnish at little expense, absolutely similar to that of elastic gum, &c. &c. Work decorated with five intaglio plates. Tome Second. Paris: Cuchet, 1784. First edition, in-8; [ii], 366p., [1p. Errata], 5 plates including frontispiece. First published work on ballooning. WITH: BOURGEOIS, David: Recherches sur l'Art de voler, depuis la plus haute antiquité jusqu'à ce jour. To serve as a Supplement to the Description of the Aerostatic Experiments of Mr. Faujas de Saint-Fond. Paris: Chez Cuchet, 1784. First edition, in-8; viii, 143p, [1p. Errata and Omissions, Approval]. Good uniform modern binding in brown half calf, spine ribbed, gilt fillets and title, cold irons, paper boards with glue for the 3 volumes. Nice set, despite some foxing or soiling to the title pages of the first and third volumes. Rare set of these three fundamental works in first edition. In Annonay en Vivarais, the brothers Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier released on June 4, 1783 a balloon inflated by the smoke of a wet straw fire. The geologist Faujas de Saint-Fond was present among the notables invited to this first public experiment. In Paris on August 27th, a balloon inflated this time with hydrogen was launched from the Champ de Mars in front of 200,000 people by Jacques Charles and the Robert brothers. Then on September 19, in Versailles, in front of the king and his court, the first ascent took place with a rooster, a duck and a sheep. Finally, on November 21, at the Château de la Muette, Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes flew over Paris for 25 minutes, and after an ascent of about a thousand meters landed safely on the Butte-aux-Cailles south of Paris. Faujas de Saint-Fond, one of the most fervent supporters of the new invention, will be the enthusiastic chronicler of these exploits, which gave rise to multiple experiments in the years that followed. Pilâtre de Rozier was the first man to die in aerial service, during an attempt to cross the English Channel on June 15, 1785. In French in the text, 175. PMM 229. Quérard III, 68.