Tom Lydon: Thaddeus S.C. Lowe

Artist: Tom Lydon
1944 -
Nationality: American
Artwork Year: 1988
Image Size: 12 by 14 inches
Overall Size: 16.5 by 18.875 inches
Medium: Chalk on Construction Paper

"I ascended to the height desired and remained there, keeping the wires hot with information. As I reported the movements of the Confederates, the Union troops were maneuvering to offset their plans." So wrote American aeronaut and inventor Thaddeus Lowe who, during the Civil War, became chief of the Union Army's aeronautic section. Employing three hot-air balloons to survey enemy operations, Lowe's U.S. Balloon Corps became a valuable source for reconnaissance and artillery spotting. The largest of the balloons -- the Intrepid -- measured 38 feet wide by 45 feet high. And its inflation took nearly three hours. Yet, once filled to its full dimensions, the balloon could ascend 300 feet off the ground. At this altitude Lowe and other surveyors enjoyed a field of view measuring about 15 miles around. When battle lines were stable, intelligence gathering was performed at a leisurely pace while engineers made aerial sketches for precisely-scaled maps. When time was critical, information was relayed by telegraph. After the war, Lowe worked on refrigeration techniques as well as on improvements in the manufacture of gas and coke. From 1891 to 1894 he turned to railroad building. After constructing a railway to scale a peak in California's Sierra Madres -- appropriately named Mt. Lowe -- he later maintained an observatory at the lofty site.

Artwork Copyright © 1988 Unicover Corporation. All Rights Reserved under United States and international copyright laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, transmit, or otherwise exploit the Artwork in any way. Images of the Artwork may be watermarked and/or digitally watermarked. Any sale of the physical original does not include or convey the Copyright or any right comprised in the copyright.

Our Stock Number (SKU): XB11477

US$ Price: $2,000.00

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