Fireworks, 1635

Fireworks, 1635. Engraving of a number of different fireworks: 'clubs' with other smaller fireworks within, intended to be carried on a staff; a 'Jack in the box'; a sphere with attached fireworks lifted using a kite, and a more detailedfirework armillary sphere. Firework displays have been widely used for celebrations in Europe since the 16th century. Elaborate pyrotechnic effects were often created and used in a theatrical setting. In 1635, the master pyrotechnician John Babington published a book from which this illustration comes, and which describes many effects available at the time, some of which he had devised. This work, 'Pyrotechnia or, A discourse of artificiall fire-works', dealt with geometry and the use of fireworks for military purposes. ©SSPL/Science Museum