Balloon mail is the transport of mail (usually for weight reasons in the form of a postcard) carrying the name of the sender by means of an unguidedhydrogen orhelium filledballoon. Since the balloon is not controllable, the delivery of a balloon mail is left to good fortune; often the balloon and postcard are lost. A found balloon should be returned to the sender (by conventional post) with an indication of the discovery site, so the sender can determine how far their balloon flew. Balloon mail is often sent as part of aballoon competition.
Historically, balloons were used to transport mail fromParis during theSiege of Paris of 1870–1871. About 66 unguided mail balloons were released from Paris to communicate with the outside world; the great majority succeeded in delivering their cargo. As Prussian forces surrounded the city, telegraph lines were cut and messengers were captured, shot or turned back. Two services were proposed:ballon monté (manned balloon) andballon non-monté (unmanned).[1] In practice only manned flights were used. After the siege, Anglo-French scientist Dr Pierre Wesby travelled to Burton-on-Trent, where in 1873 he started a business to transport mail from England across the Irish Sea to Dublin. It is not known how this venture turned out; the records of Wesby's company were lost in 1916 when a bomb from theZeppelin L 19 destroyed them.
In 1877, a 5-cent stamp for balloon postage was privately printed inNashville, Tennessee, to carry mail on a June 18 flight of the "Buffalo Balloon" from that city toGallatin, Tennessee. Of the 300 stamps produced, only 23 were used.[2]
Balloon mail was sent fromPrzemyśl,Poland (near theUkrainian border), during World War I.[3]
Balloon mail has been used for spreading information andpropaganda materials, in particular for spreading propaganda to the population in countries withdictatorial governments. A balloon can be released from outside the sphere of influence of these governments and, wind permitting, can travel several hundred kilometers. This method of balloon mail has been used by privateactivists to distribute leaflets toWarsaw Pact countries fromWest Germany in the mid-1950s,[4] andby South Koreans to North Korea discussing the health of their leader,Kim Jong-il.[5]
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