[BALLOONING]. The Boston Magazine. Boston: Norman, White and Freeman, February 1784. 8vo (210 x 133 mm). 1 (of 2) plates (lacks frontispiece of John Adams but contains the rare and early American engraving of an air balloon by John Norman). Disbound (final signature partially detached, remnants of old spine, browning and spotting throughout). CONTAINS THE EARLIEST PRINTED MATERIAL ON BALLOONING PUBLISHED IN THE UNITED STATES. Aerial navigation was first discovered in 1782 by the French balloonists Stephen and Joseph Montgolfier but it wouldn’t be until 9 January 1793 that the first American balloon flight would take place. We could only locate one copy institutionally (Smithsonian). Lewis, A Guide to Engravings in American Magazines, 1741-1810, p. 23; Mott, A History of American Magazines 1741-1850, pp. 28-29; Richardson, A History of Early American Magazines, 1741-1789, pp. 211-227.