alexpgp | Par ballon monté

I bought a book online (Par ballon monté, by Louis Moland), thinking it discussed mail sent by piloted balloon during the Siege of Paris between September 1870 and February 1871.

It does, but not in the philatelic sense I am interested in.

The book actually consists of letters sent from Paris during the Siege. As I flipped through the pages, I noticed that there was no indication of who the letters were from, or who they were written to, whereupon I decided to start at the very beginning, where I found the answer I was looking for.

Avertissement

L'origine de cette publication est celle que le titre indique. Pendant le siége de Paris, j'entretins une correspondence suivie avec les personnes de ma famille dont les unes, ayant quitté Paris, s'étaient réfugées dans notre pays natale, les autres y résident habituellement. Ces personnes sont d'âge et de caractère différents : il en est d'un esprit très-sérieux ; il en est qui s'intéressent plus aux événements de la vie domestique qu'aux événements de la vie publique. Je devais varier le sujet de mes lettres selon la personne à qui elles étaient addressées.

My translation:

Caveat

The origin of this publication is what the title indicates. During the Siege of Paris, I kept an intimate correspondence with members of my family, some of whom, having left Paris, had taken refuge in our native country, the others ordinarily live there. These persons are of different age and character; there are those with a very serious intellect and there are some who are more interested in the events of domestic life than in the events of public life. I had to vary the subject of my letters according to the person to whom they were addressed.

Despite having nothing to do with stamp collecting, this may turn out to be a very interesting book.

Cheers...