Henson's 'Ariel' above the Pyramids, Egypt, 1843

Henson's 'Ariel' above the Pyramids, Egypt, 1843. Coloured lithograph by W L Walton and published by Ackermann & Company showing Henson's Aerial Steam Carriage in a fictitious flight over the Nile and the pyramids of Egypt. William Henson (1812-1888) patented his design for an Aerial Steam Carriage in 1842 and, although the 'Ariel' never actually flew, its design conditioned much of the thinking of the early aviation pioneers, and laid the foundations for the modern monoplane. Henson and his partner, John Stringfellow, planned to set up an airfreight company, the 'Aerial Steam Transit Company' to transport goods around the world. The romantic print published here shows the machine as Henson wished to see it - operating in all parts of the world. ©SSPL/Science Museum