1-154-289 - Art Media-Private Collection/Heritage Images

'Aerostier', Siege of Paris, 1870-1871. Print from a series titled Souvenirs du Siege de Paris. After the disastrous defeat of the French at Sedan and the capture of Napoleon III, the Prussians surrounded Paris on 9 September 1870. The city held out despite famine and great hardship until a bombardment with heavy siege guns led to its surrender on 28 January 1871. During the siege, the French used balloons both to deliver mail over the Prussian lines. From a private collection.