Emil Schimpf Manuscript: Vorlaufige Instruction uber Zusammensetzung Gebrauch des Luftschifferparks

Signed at the end by "Schimpff, Second Lieutenant im Badischen Pionier Bataillon Nr. 14," this late nineteenth-century manuscript contains notes from an unidentified manual on the construction and use of military airships and their launching parks. These preliminary instructions include procedures for the building of the airships (detailing the necessary materials), for filling it with hydrogen, and also for the conservation and repair of the used materials. Interestingly, the author of the text uses the words "airship" and "balloon" interchangeably. The handwriting is clear and features Latin characters, which is surprising since German documents of this era usually were written in the difficult-to-read German cursive.