Mail balloons of Lille
We can find letters to PARIS handled by the LILLE post office during the second fortnight of February 1871. Some of these letters are even marked "par ballon monté" ("by mail balloon"). Most of them were written at the end of 1870 and originated from places far from LILLE.
Little is known about the history of Lille’s mail balloons.
Letter written in DRUCOURT (Eure) on 12 November 1870. Processed in LILLE on 23 February 1871.
During the siege of Paris in 1870–1871, sending mail out of the capital via mail balloons was relatively easy. In total, between 23 September 1870 and 28 January 1871, 55 balloons successfully carried mail out of the city.
In the opposite direction, however, getting mail into Paris was far more challenging, despite the Administration’s efforts to establish postal links with the capital.
Moniteur Universel of 27 October 1870.
At first, the telegraph was used, but the cables to PARIS were cut by the Germans, and various attempts to restore them failed.
The carrier pigeon service, which transported microphotographic dispatches, was opened to the public by a decree on 4 November 1870 (Monthly Bulletin no. 28, July 1871). However, the number of pigeons capable of covering long distances was limited. In addition, winter conditions and reduced daylight hours affected their performance.
Finally, the idea arose of using balloons departing from PARIS to send them back there. However, as the balloons of the time were not yet steerable, their return to the capital depended entirely on the whims of the wind.
Moreover, the German-occupied zones around Paris were expanding daily, making it increasingly difficult to depart from a town close enough to the capital. Additionally, such a town needed to have a gas plant powerful enough to inflate a balloon quickly.
Nevertheless, on 9 November, the Post Office published the following notice in the Moniteur Universel.
Postage due letter written in MARSEILLE on 16 November 1870. Processed in LILLE on 25 February, it arrived in PARIS on 27 February.
Extract from the notice published in the Moniteur Universel of Bordeaux on 21 December 1870 (Monthly Bulletin no. 28 July 1871).
In reality, this notice did not put an end to attempts to return to PARIS, as other methods were subsequently tested, such as the Boules de Moulins (Moulins balls). It is even possible that the notice was also intended to mislead the enemy. Indeed, the Germans were aware of efforts to re-establish communications with PARIS. François-Frédéric Steenackers, Director General of Telegraphs and Posts, recounts in his book [1]:
"This second notice [that of 27 October] was a matter of order, a sort of recommendation for discretion to inventors and the press. Alas! I was preaching in the wilderness. The newspapers – with no ill intent, I am sure – reported on the balloon journeys, the return tests, and so on. Those who had the greatest interest in keeping silent, despite all our pleas, revealed the secret to anyone who would listen."
A large quantity of mail had accumulated following the notices of 27 October and 9 November, yet no effective means had been found to send it to the capital.
In Paris, the Minister of Public Works, Dorian, instructed Bunelle and De Fonvielle to coordinate with the government delegation in TOURS to organise an attempt to return to the capital [2].
De Fonvielle and Bunelle knew each other well. During the siege, Bunelle had established a private company chartering balloons for individuals and had recruited De Fonvielle. Both had left PARIS on 24 November 1870 aboard the Égalité balloon, accompanied by three passengers and carrying a letter from Minister Dorian to Steenackers. After landing in LOUVAIN (Belgium), Bunelle headed for TOURS, while De Fonvielle travelled to England.
Upon arriving in TOURS, Bunelle telegraphed a friend in Paris on 1 December: "Well, rough journey, received important aeronautical mission […]"[3].
This "important mission" was to establish an aerostatics station, which he would oversee. The station was set up in LILLE at the beginning of January 1871 in buildings provided by Lille Town Hall.
Extract from the newspaper La Liberté (Montpellier) of 13 January 1871. Bunelle is referred to as Brunel.
Initially, the station was equipped with three balloons brought back from BORDEAUX after a long sea voyage. Later, all balloons that had fallen near Nord department and in Belgium, including the Duquesne (a balloon with a propeller gondola), were added to the LILLE fleet. According to De Fonvielle, the purpose of this station was to establish communication between the Armée du Nord, headquartered in LILLE, and PARIS.
No public announcement was made regarding this initiative. The Administration simply redirected part of the stock of letters bound for PARIS—collected in TOURS—to LILLE. This explains why some letters processed in LILLE bear the markings "par ballon" or "ballon monté", following the notice of 9 November 1870.
The staff at the LILLE aeronautical station were unable to attempt a balloon launch, as the winds in January were unfavourable. Conditions improved towards the end of the month, but the Armistice signed on 28 January rendered the LILLE station and its balloons obsolete.
Bunelle remained in LILLE for some time and made a few charity ascents, but the station was officially closed on 22 February 1871.
The mail collected in LILLE was forwarded to PARIS between 14 and 28 February 1871, as indicated by LILLE date stamps.
References:
[1] Les télégraphes et les postes pendant la guerre de 1870-1871, François-Frédéric Steenackers, 1883, p. 491.
[2] Le Spectateur Militaire, Henri Noirot, 1890, p. 162.
[3] Recueil des dépêches télégraphiques reproduites par la photographie et adressées à Paris au moyen de pigeons voyageurs, Volume IV.
However, several attempts from Chartres on 20 October, and from ROUEN on 7 and 8 November with the Jean-Bart, were unsuccessful. Another balloon made attempts from AMIENS during the first ten days of November, but again without success.
In light of this evidence, the Administration published the following notice in the Moniteur Universel on 21 December 1870, announcing the end of experiments to return to Paris by balloon.
English translation:
PUBLIC NOTICE
In order to put an end to the moral and intellectual blockade imposed by our foreign enemies upon Paris, the Administration is determined to do everything possible, and even to attempt the impossible.
The public is hereby informed that letters addressed to Paris may be sent to the Prefecture of Tours, in prepaid envelopes, in the name of Mr Alphonse Feillet, who has been entrusted with the management of this exceptional postal service.
These letters must be written on thin onion-skin paper, be of small size, and be prepaid in accordance with the ordinary postal regulations. No registered letters will be accepted.
Owing to the difficult circumstances in which we find ourselves, a large number of these dispatches, and in the interests of their transmission, departures will be irregular, and no assurance can be given as to their arrival in Paris.
The various means of communication that citizens, motivated by the public good, might devise and bring to the attention of Mr Feillet will always be examined with serious consideration and put to the test if they appear practicable. However, the Administration will not normally respond to those who propose them, particularly if their suggestions involve ingenious methods.
For such difficult attempts to succeed, the utmost secrecy is essential. The Administration therefore earnestly requests the French press to refrain from reporting that a balloon is being constructed in a particular place, that pigeons have departed from another, and similar information.
To reveal such details in advance would be to draw the attention and attacks of our enemies.
Later, when the foreign invader has been driven back, the Administration will inform the country of the efforts it has made to serve it. It will then be able to acknowledge those who have willingly assisted it in its task and to express its gratitude for their efforts and valuable advice.
Those who send correspondence are requested to write their names and addresses clearly.
English translation:
GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF TELEGRAPHS AND POSTS
NOTICE
Henceforth, letters intended to be sent to Paris by manned balloon may be addressed directly to the Central Administration of Telegraphs and Posts in Tours.
These letters must be enclosed in an envelope bearing the following address:
To Monsieur
The Director-General of Telegraphs and Posts
Tours
[For Paris, by manned balloon.]
As the Director-General enjoys unlimited exemption from postage, the envelope bearing his address must not be affixed with postage stamps. Only the letter intended for Paris shall be subject to postal charges from now on.
All the other conditions specified in a previous notice concerning the dispatch of correspondence by manned balloon remain in force.
The Director-General of Telegraphs and Posts has arranged for a notice to be transmitted to the Journal officiel and other Paris newspapers by carrier pigeons. This notice states that letters sent from the capital by manned balloon generally reach their destinations.
English translation:
UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS TO SEND CORRESPONDENCE TO PARIS BY MANNED BALLOON — NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC
Since the encirclement of Paris, the Telegraph and Postal Administration has spared no effort to restore communications between the provinces and the capital as regularly as possible.
So far, only carrier pigeons have achieved this objective, which has been so persistently pursued by the Administration and so eagerly desired by the public.
Considering, on the one hand, that science has not yet solved the problem of steering balloons; that, in the present state of aeronautics, several experienced aeronauts have unsuccessfully attempted to return to Paris, at the risk of being captured; that the ever-expanding circle of the invasion makes the success of such attempts increasingly unlikely; and, on the other hand, that the telegrams dispatched by carrier pigeons meet the public's most urgent needs as far as possible, the Administration has decided that, until further notice, it will no longer accept letters bearing the following inscription:
“For Paris, by manned balloon.”
English translation:
Eight days ago, we reported that our colleague, Mr Wilfrid de Fonvielle, currently in London, was preparing to return to the capital by balloon.
Today, we have received detailed information about this attempt. However, in the interests of its success, we ask our readers to allow us to remain discreet.
The only thing we can reveal is that the balloon is ready, that it is in Bordeaux, and that our colleague Mr de Fonvielle, accompanied on his journey by a fellow traveller, is due to leave for London the day after tomorrow. From there, the two aeronauts will take to the skies, confident of successfully reaching Paris.
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