Category: History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)

Artificial fire-works

Aigrettes Amber-lights Balloons Batteries Chinese Fire-Ships Cohorns Cones Crackers Cascades Dodecadrons Ducks Earthquakes Flights Flyers Fountains Gerbes Globes Gold-Rain Grand Volutes Leaders Lights Mines Matches Mortars Marrons Moons Neptune’s Chariot Potts Pumps Rain-Fall...

Chapters

11. Part 11

To make an illuminated chandelier, you must first have one made of thin wood; see fig. 50. The chandelier being made, bore in the front of the branches, and in the body, and als...

10. Part 10

Horizontal wheels are often fired two at a time, and made to keep time, like vertical wheels, only they are made without any slow or dead fire; ten or twelve inches will be enou...

9. Part 9

The fire ship, may be of any size, and need not be very good, for it is always lost in the action. To prepare a ship for this purpose, make a port fire equal in size, with them...

7. Part 7

Mortars used for throwing aigrettes are generally made of paste-board, of the same thickness as ballóón mortars, and two diameters and a half long in the inside from the top of...

8. Part 8

When tailed stars are drove, the composition must be moistened with spirit of wine only, and not made so wet as for rolling; one and two ounce cases rolled dry, are best for thi...

12. Part 12

This piece is represented by fig 56. Let A, be a strong decagon wheel, two feet six inches diameter; then on each side of it fix a cone B and C; these cones are to consist of a...

5. Part 5

Rocket cases, from the smallest to four or six pound, are generally made of the strongest sort of cartridge paper, and rolled dry; but the large sort are made of pasted paste-bo...

2. Part 2

Saltpetre being the principal ingredient in fireworks, and a volatile body, by reason of its aqueous and aërial parts, is easily rarified by fire; but not so soon when foul and...

6. Part 6

Plate 2, Fig. 18, represents the plan of an apparatus, or lath, for boring of rockets; A the large wheel which turns the small one B, that works the reammer C: these reammers ar...

3. Part 3

This fire is the most beautiful and curious of any yet known, and was invented by the Chinese, but now is in greater perfection in England, than in China; and as it requires a g...

4. Part 4

Interior | Weight of |Saltpetre.|Brimstone.|Charcoal. diameter of|the rocket.| | | the mould. | | | | -----------+-----------+----------+----------+--------- Lines. |lb. oz. dr....

1. Part 1

Aigrettes Amber-lights Balloons Batteries Chinese Fire-Ships Cohorns Cones Crackers Cascades Dodecadrons Ducks Earthquakes Flights Flyers Fountains Gerbes Globes Gold-Rain Grand...

13. Part 13

The construction of this piece is very easy, as shewn by figure 8, whose diameter from B to C, is eight feet, and from D to E, two feet, the vertical wheel in the center, must b...