During the siege of Paris in 1870, a balloon service was set up to maintain communications between the capital and the rest of the country. The number of recuperated balloons soon proved insufficient and it was decided to build new balloons. Manufacturing workshops were set up in the vast buildings of the Gare d’Orléans and the Gare du Nord. The wicker basket in the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace (Air and Space Museum) is one of the sixty or so balloons manufactured in 1870 to strict specifications. With room for four people, the wicker basket was delivered fully equipped (including anchor and ballast bags).