An engraved & manuscript U.S. Passport, signed by Webster and Andrews, dated ‘23rd day of June 1852’.

Solomon ANDREWS (aeronaut, doctor, mayor and inventor, 1806-1872). - Daniel WEBSTER (1782-1852, Secretary of State).

An engraved & manuscript U.S. Passport, signed by Webster and Andrews, dated ‘23^rd day of June 1852’. Bifolium (16 ½ x 11in; 419 x 279mm), with various subsequent stamps (see images).

Condition: old folds, otherwise excellent.          

An attractive document, issued to a fascinating figure who embodies much of the entrepreneurial spirit of mid to late 19th-century America.

 ‘Solomon Andrews was a physician by profession, but it was as the inventor of at least two dozen devices-from a gas lamp to a combination lock- that built his reputation and his fortune. Andrews's greatest achievement was in the field of balloon aviation, where he developed the world's first self-propelled, steerable airship. Hailed as "the most extraordinary invention of the age," the Aereon made its maiden flight in June 1863, piloted by its intrepid inventor.’ (https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.2002.374)

‘Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, and Millard Fillmore. As one of the most prominent American lawyers of the 19th century, he argued over 200 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court between 1814 and his death in 1852. During his life, he was a member of the Federalist Party, the National Republican Party, and the Whig Party.’ (wikipedia)

‘Solomon Andrews (February 15, 1806 – October 17, 1872) was a doctor, aviator and dirigible airship inventor. Andrews invented an airship called Aereon which received some notice in the 1860s. He claimed to sail it as one would a sailboat. Mention is made of the movement of pilot and passenger fore and aft in the basket to control attitude. He was a medical doctor and three times Mayor of Perth Amboy, New Jersey. He served as the health officer of Perth Amboy, New Jersey and supervised the construction of the city's first sewer system. He served as the Collector of the Port of New Jersey in Perth Amboy from 1844 to 1845.

His first "Aereon" flew over Perth Amboy on June 1, 1863. This had three 80-foot cigar-shaped balloons, with a rudder and gondola. Buoyancy was controlled by jettisoning sand ballast or releasing hydrogen lift gas. Dr. Andrews wrote Abraham Lincoln later that summer offering the Aereon for use in the American Civil War, during which he served for a time as a volunteer surgeon in the Union Army. After much discussion, he arranged a demonstration early in 1864 before the Smithsonian Institution. He was informed, nearly a year later, that the Government had little interest in his invention, and by that time the war was nearly over.

Andrews then organized the Aerial Navigation Company to build commercial Airships and establish a regular line between New York and Philadelphia.

The "Aereon #2" had one "lemon-shaped" balloon, sharply pointed at the ends. It controlled buoyancy with a system of lines and pulleys that compressed the gas or allowed it to expand. This flew over New York City on May 25, 1866 and June 5, 1866. The second trip, carrying a passenger-assistant (a news reporter had to be left out at the last minute because of weight problems) ended at Oyster Bay, Long Island. At this point, the post-war economic collapse and its bank failures destroyed the company, and he never flew again.

The difference of specific gravity between the balloon and the surrounding atmosphere could be converted by a system of inclined planes to steer the craft, without a motor. He referred to his propulsion as "gravitation." The craft was not normally trimmed to be neutrally buoyant. Instead it would be cycled between positive and negative buoyancy. The resulting airflow across the body of the craft and attached airfoils would propel it.’ (wikipedia)