A recent publication Sky Rider: Park Van Tassel and the Rise of Ballooning in the West by Gary B. Fogel sheds new light on the intrepid aeronaut who “took ballooning from Albuquerque to the rest of the world.” From the foreword: “Author and aviation historian Dr Gary Fogel traces Van Tassel’s life journey and show... Continue Reading →
Exciting news - my book The Only Living Lady Parachutist has been on Australian TV! Last year I shared my research on the Van Tassel sisters with Northern Pictures in Australia who were making a programme called Tiny Oz – where comedian Jimmy Rees and tiny craft artist JoAnne Bouzianis-Sellick unite with the extraordinary crafts... Continue Reading →
Wanganui Herald 9 June 1894 I drew on this article for a scene at the end of Chapter 20 in The Only Living Lady Parachutist, but I thought it was probably just bluster on Leila Adair’s part – that she never really intended making a complaint to the United States Consul because, despite her claims,... Continue Reading →
A few weeks back, I was checking a few details about Leila Adair’s New Zealand tour on Papers Past when I noticed something that had previously escaped my attention. Auckland Star 30 March 1894 Taranaki Herald 21 April 1894 Mr A. Blackwell appeared to be part of Leila’s entourage! He is listed as a passenger... Continue Reading →
One of the many colourful characters I came across during my research for The Only Living Lady Parachutist was a local Whanganui identity known as Granny Dalton. She doesn’t feature in the novel, but when Leila Adair made a balloon ascent from the Whanganui Racecourse, Granny Dalton was living in a shack nearby. Feisty, independent,... Continue Reading →
One of the best things about my new locale, Petone, is the history associated with the area. Since we are all restricted to short walks in our local area during the Covid-19 pandemic let me invite you to a virtual walk through Discover Historic Petone. Many of the Petone streets are named after the early... Continue Reading →
Most barnstorming aeronautical performers (including Price and Van Tassel) kept scrapbooks of clippings, photos, and advertisements to prove their worth when arriving in a new town — and at last, I’ve managed to locate one of these elusive items! A few weeks ago, I obtained a copy of Leon Sagehomme’s ballooning scrap album from the... Continue Reading →
In a previous post, James William Price: Balloonist, I bemoaned the brick walls I ran into tracing his elusive genealogical origins. I can now report after a bit more sleuthing on Ancestry and GenealogyBank, thanks to a tip-off from Jerry Kuntz (who is researching a non-fiction history of the parachuting craze of 1887-1890s) — I’ve... Continue Reading →
I’m fascinated by the history of early New Zealand hotels — and there were a lot of them! While researching The Only Living Lady Parachutist I sometimes found mention of the hotels that Leila Adair stayed in: Albion Hotel, WhanganuiClub Hotel, Palmerston NorthClub Hotel, Masterton Digby Andrews’ Coach and Horses Hotel, Nelson European Hotel, Dunedin... Continue Reading →
What is a booktown, you may well ask? Alex Johnson in his book Book Towns: Forty-five Paradises of the Printed Word defines it as “simply a small town, usually rural and scenic, full of bookshops and book-related industries.” The most well-known booktowns are Hay-on-Wye in Wales and Wigtown in Scotland (the location of Shaun Bythell’s... Continue Reading →
Catherine Clarke 