Pyrotechnics: The History and Art of Firework MakingBrock, Alan St. H. (Alan St. Hill)
History
Pyrotechnics: The History and Art of Firework Making
Brock, Alan St. H. (Alan St. Hill)
Fireworks
In addition, moreover, most of the leading makers, anticipating
some form of restriction on this admixture, had been for some time
previously seeking substitute colour formulæ, and although it may be
said by some that colours were obtained by the use of chlorate and
sulphur which have not been equalled by subsequent formulæ, yet most
have not only been equalled but improved upon, and the small minority
remaining are an insignificant price to pay for the security and
safety gained in manufacture.
Between the publication of Chertier’s book in 1856 (nearly thirty years
later than his first pamphlet) and the close of the century, several
works on pyrotechny made their appearance, several by Frenchmen:
Tessier, 1859, “Traité Pratique des Feux colorés,” two works in the
Roret encyclopædia series, “Pyrotechnie Civile” and “Pyrotechnie
Militaire,” published 1865, and in 1882, “Traité pratique des Feux
d’Artifice,” by Denisse.
The English works of any value during this period were: “Pyrotechny,”
by Practicus, Brown’s “Practical Firework Making,” and “The
Pyrotechnist’s Treasury,” by Kentish, 1878. Hutstein and Websky’s “Art
of Firework Making,” published at Leipzig in 1878, a book published
under the same title by Oscar Frey about 1885, and “A Theoretical
and Practical Treatise of Civil Pyrotechny,” by Antoni, published
at Trieste in 1893, together with some works on military pyrotechny
published both in Europe and the United States, complete the list.
Some of the military works are of considerable value, but are chiefly
directed to the study of rockets and signals; some, however, are in
the same category as “The Artillerist’s Manual and British Soldier’s
Compendium,” by Captain F. A. Griffiths, R.A., published in 1852. The
section dealing with fireworks in this work might almost be taken as
an attempt to be humorous on the subject. The author quotes in all
seriousness formulæ dating from the days of Bate and Babington, and
knows so little of his subject that he gives instructions for making
the same firework under different names under the impression that
they are distinct units, the information being obviously pillaged
from earlier writers. Generally a study of the above-mentioned works
indicates that the tendency in pyrotechnic compositions has been
in the direction of simplification. During the eighteenth century
the useless ingredients had been in a great measure eliminated. The
“burnables” had been reduced from a long list of alchemistic survivals
to a mere half-dozen or so.
Gums had been reduced practically to shellac alone (the use of gum
arabic as an adhesive is quite distinct), carbons to lampblack and
charcoal, and these with sulphur and sulphides of antimony and arsenic
practically completed the list.
Of the metals the use of pure zinc, copper, and brass has been
discontinued, and the two almost revolutionary additions of magnesium
and aluminium made, the former about 1865 and the latter in 1894.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account