The image set Early flight at Wikipedia contains two beautiful series of French collecting cards with pictures of events in ballooning and parachuting history. The series contain images of events from 1783 to 1846. Printed between 1890 and 1900 by Romanet & cie, the cards are available on high resolution.

The collecting cards with curious illustrations of flying machines and important events of its history are part of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. The set 1re série, was part of the exhibition The Dream of Flight, which contains even more images, documents and pictures of aviation history. Check also the List of early flying machines at Wikipedia.