What kinds of items are in the BBM&L collection?

Updated

The British Balloon Museum & Library (BBM&L) collection covers hot air and gas ballooning plus airships, and is organised into categories including hardware (balloons, baskets, burners), books, oral history audio, advertising, clothing, photographs, postal items, art, moving films, memorabilia, trophies and plaques, records, publications, and 3D models. There is no physical museum building; items are being added to the website gradually as they are catalogued and photographed, so what you can view online today is a growing portion of the whole.

The full category list

The site groups the collection into the following categories, each with images and descriptions:

Category What it contains
Hardware Balloons, baskets, burners etc.
Books Non-fiction, fiction, non-English
Oral history Audio interviews with key people
Advertising Posters and handbills
Clothing T-shirts, sweatshirts, flying suits etc.
Photographs Single photos, bundles and albums
Post/Postal items Flown mail, stamps, envelopes
Art Paintings, prints
Moving films Documentaries, fiction, events
Memorabilia China, glass, wood, metal etc.
Trophies & plaques Awards, trophies and plaques
Records Logbooks, certificates, stationery etc.
Publications Articles, magazines, newspapers etc.
3D models Models of balloons etc.

What the scope actually covers

The stated objective is preserving items "associated with, and used in, hot air and gas ballooning, and other forms of lighter-than-air flight." In practice that means:

  • Both balloon types — hot air and gas — not just the modern sport.
  • Airships too, with a "good number of items from the world of airships" alongside the balloon material.
  • Documents as well as objects — logbooks, certificates, magazines, flown mail and stamps sit alongside physical hardware.

A featured example gives a sense of the hardware end: an open weave wicker basket made by Thunder Balloons, an early design from around 1973, with no burner supports and cow hide around the top. The site notes the open weave design is a throw-back to the gas balloon era, which dominated ballooning from the late 18th century until the modern hot air balloon was invented in the 1960s.

How to find a specific item

  1. Go to the collection section and pick a category from the list above to browse images and descriptions.
  2. If you already know what you want, use the search box to find a particular item, person or event.
  3. Expect gaps: the museum states that adding items to the website is a gradual process, so a missing item may simply not be catalogued or photographed yet rather than absent from the collection.

What BBM&L is, briefly

BBM&L is the official museum of the British Balloon and Airship Club. It was formed in 1979 by a small group of balloonists and is a registered charity. Because it has no physical museum to house the collection, the National Lottery Heritage Fund supported putting many items online for the first time. The site also carries news and events concerning people, balloons and airships, and accepts memberships and donations.