Excelsior Ginger Ale Postcard

Circa 1885 - Advertisement for Ginger Ale with balloon and basket with black attendants. Two women drink Excelsior Ginger Ale, implying the carbonation helps the balloon to rise. Image of two fashionably dressed women in slim long dresses and bonnets embarking on a hot air balloon ride, one stands inside the basket holding a lace-edged handkerchief with a mustached balloon operator with binoculars and a monocle, the other sips ginger ale from a glass as she begins to ascend a rope ladder into the craft; two African-American men with ginger ale bottles attend the balloon; a large crowd of people watches the spectacle from stands behind a white wood fence painted with advertising slogans