Blowing bubbles: 1786

I have sometimes been amused with blowing bubbles with inflammable air, and by attaching to them a small circle of paper and fine thread or raw silk, could hold them suspended in the air for a considerable time. Another amusing experiment was to fix to the inflammable air-bubble a small flip of nitred paper, to the side of which and near the top a grain of gunpowder was annexed. The small end of the paper paper was lighted, and burning up to the gunpowder during its ascent, it exploded, and at the fame instant fired the inflammable air.

--From Memoirs of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester--

Weaponized soap bubbles!

Blowing bubbles: 1734

A childish diversion, that seems to have nothing in it but what is contemptible, gave Sir Isaac Newton the first idea of these recent truths which we are now to explain. Every thing to a philosopher should be a subject of meditation, and nothing despicable in his eyes. He perceived, that in those bubbles of soap and water blown by children...

--From The Works of M. de Voltaire--

If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, the road to stupidity is paved with disdain.

Blowing bubbles: 1732

A Fool's Speech is a Bubble of Air.

--From Gnomologia--

And everyone is like children, chasing after them!

Blowing bubbles: 1886

Here is a picture of a young child blowing bubbles:

Notice the strange look to the eyes:

And the bubble blowing paraphernalia:

Bubbles: the gateway drug. (Parents, know the signs!)

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Blowing bubbles: 1704

If a Bubble be blown with Water first made tenacious by dissolving a little Soap in it, 'tis a common Observation, that after a while it will appear tinged with a great variety of Colours. To defend these Bubbles from being agitated by the external Air (whereby their Colours are irregularly moved one among another, so that no accurate Observation can be made of them,) as soon as I had blown any of them I cover'd it with a clear Glass, and by that means its Colours emerged in a very regular order, like so many concentrick Rings encompassing the top of the Bubble.

--From Opticks--

Soap bubbles were one of the experimental subjects which helped Newton develop his theories on the properties of light! Only kids play with them now, but they were like the particle accelerators of their day.

Blowing bubbles: 1684

...and so like a company of Boys that blow Bubbles out of a Wall-nut shell, every one runs after his bubble...

--From Several tracts written by Sr Matthew Hale--

It sounds like children were taking halves of walnut shells, poking a hole in the back, dunking them in soapy water, and then blowing into the hole to create airborne soap bubbles. And it happened before 1684, because it was common enough then to be used as a simile in a religious text.

Perhaps they only used the walnut shell as a dish, of course walnut shells have a defined edge so they seem perfect for blowing bubbles in the modern sense.  Perhaps by "every one runs after" the author was speaking figuratively and not literally. Still, this seems like the best evidence for airborne bubbles I have seen so far.

Blowing bubbles: 1623

...we see it also in little Glasses of Spittle that children make of Rushes; And in Castles of Bubbles, which they make by blowing into water, having obtained a little Degree of Tenacity by Mixture of Soape...

--From Sylva sylvarum--

This is Francis Bacon talking about the properties of bubbles. He talks about them floating through water, floating on water, even being made with soap. But, he never talks about them floating through air. Even when he is describing children playing with them, they sound like foam that was contained in a bowl. So, I don't think bubbles where airborne at this point!

Blowing bubbles: 1663

Bubbles are weird toys, but at least they don't cost much (and they don't get you dirty!).