White, John
A Rich Cabinet.with Variety of Inventions ... /including} Variety of Recreative
Fire-works both for Land, Air, and Water ...
London: Printed for William
Whitwood, 1668.
This popular handbook, with a frontispiece depicting different types of
fireworks displays, was reprinted eight times during the seventeenth century.
Two other editions of this title (1651 and 1684) are in the H. Adrian Smith
Collection of Conjuring and Magicana.
Photograph 5a: Title-page and frontispiece.
John White
A Rich Cabinet, with a variety of inventions ... As also variety
of recreative fireworks both for land, air and water ... The fourth edition...
London: Printed for William Whitwood, 1668. [At Upper Right]
The fourth edition of A Rich Cabinet is divided into three sections,
the second being a 70 pages long "School of Artificial Fire-works."
Included in this "School" were: how to make a wheel of fire-works
to run forward and backward upon the ground; several compositions for the
ordering of starrs of several colours; and how to make a Whale, a Mermaid,
or other to play and swim upon the water. At least nine editions of this
popular chap-book were published before 1700. Copies of the first (1651)
and fifth (1684) editions are in the H. Adrian Smith Collection of Conjuring
and Magicana. This scientific chap-book is opened at an engraved title-page
that is reminiscent of John Babington's Pyrotechnia.
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