The first rubber balloons were made by Professor Michael Faraday in 1824 for use in his experiments with hydrogen, at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in London.

Did they have balloons in the 1920s?

In the 1920s Neil Tillotson designed and produced a latex balloon with a cat's face and ears from a cardboard form which he cut by hand with a pair of scissors.

How long have balloons been around?

By definition, a balloon is a small inflatable rubber bag, used as a toy. It made its first appearance at the Paris Exposition of 1889. In the beginning it was simply two sheets of gum rubber with the edges pounded together, made to look like one of the large hot-air balloons which had been around since 1783.