'One Immense Black Spot': Aerial views of London 1784-1918

Aerial imagery is everywhere these days, but before World War I, the aerial view had been experienced by a tiny minority of individuals. Focusing on airborne adventures from Lunardi�s first flight over British soil in 1784 to the Royal Flying Corps, this article uncovers the variety within aerial viewing. Aerial views are sometimes understood as inherently map-like and surveilliant, as if the airborne viewer always saw in a certain way. However, early balloonists and their passengers describe a London whose aspects could be revealed or disguised, elevated or debased, by different kinds of viewing