Peter Cribbins - aeronautical adventurist
Born in Hastings, England, in 1868, Peter Cribbins had a rather uneventful childhood. His middle-class upbringing provided him with a stable home life, a decent education, and modest financial stability, courtesy of a generous aunt.
Cribbins was known locally as a studious but somewhat distant young owl. A little eccentric, perhaps. He was a collector. Sooner or later, anything and everything that came his way took up permanent residence in a large barn at the foot of his garden in his country cottage home.
Quite early in life, Cribbins developed a keen interest in aeronautics. He was fascinated by the exploits of the balloonists of the time. However, this trend among the scientific community to fill rubber bladders with combustible gas was not shared with enthusiasm by the local community. It was, in fact, viewed with derision and considered a hazardous gimmick by all. So when Cribbins announced that he had built one of these fearful contraptions and was planning to launch it vertically into the clouds, a large and unruly mob formed. Eager to taunt and possibly sabotage his endeavors, they gathered en mass. Fortunately for Cribbins, he made a last-minute decision to switch launching locations due to the changing weather conditions. Unaware of the mob, he flew over them at a staggering height of 30ft. As they shook their tiny fists at him, Cribbins, mistaking their gesture to be friendly, joyfully waved back. He was blissfully unaware of their collective venom.
Plunging through the grey clouds, he saw a series of tall trees rapidly approaching. He wisely chose to ascend a little higher to avoid clipping their tops. Unfortunately, he didn’t have bags of sand for ballast. Instead, he carried an extensive collection of rocks from the local stream. And so, as the crowd scurried after him in pursuit, shouting ‘balloonitic’! He obligingly waved back cheerfully and to raise the basket, he cast the rocks to the ground below. This infuriated them further. They scattered, crying, “He’s bombing us….run for your lives!”
He sailed away into the clouds, waving one last time before they were just tiny dots on the horizon. Cribbons then enjoyed a delicious packed lunch and contemplated his glorious send-off. Content in his new status as an aeronautical adventurist
Illustrated in the style of a vintage Edwardian or Victorian photograph. This image is part of my 'Anicurio®' collection. Each original illustration is carefully hand drawn in pencil. Once finished, I hand age and treat them with various dye methods, to resemble an old dusty antique photograph. I want this series to suggest something that was rediscovered by you. An inherited artifact from a mysterious benefactor? Or perhaps revealed in a long abandoned attic, lying at the bottom of a chest. Buried beneath old dusty clothes and fading hand written notes.
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