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During the later part of the seventeenth century, and subsequently, many prints appeared depicting firework displays; their number seems quite out of proportion to the total number of prints published in that period.

Possibly this may be taken as some indication of the popularity of firework displays at the time, or may give the measure of the favour in which they were held by the artists of the day.

Many of these prints are of little value to the student of pyrotechny, as they merely depict the more or less elaborate structure for the display by daylight, and whatever may be their architectural or artistic merit there is generally no indication of what actual fireworks were to be used, or how they were to be displayed.

In some cases a list of the works is given under the engraving, adding greatly to its value in the eyes of the pyrotechnist, and some, although they are considerably in the minority, are intended to represent the display in progress, although on the rather futuristic method of showing everything going off at one time.

A series of prints published in Germany during the seventeenth century are among the earliest in which a serious attempt is made to depict pyrotechnic effects; the series includes “Swedish Fireworks,” dated 1650; “Fireworks at Nuremburg in celebration of Peace,” of the same date; “Fireworks given at Pleissenburg by the Prince of Saxony,” 1666; and the same year, “Fireworks at Vienna”; all three prints show a good display of rockets, also bonfires, and there are indications of primitive wheels. The same remarks apply to a very fine plate published in 1669, depicting a display given at Stockholm in honour of the investiture of Charles XI of Sweden with the Order of the Garter by the British Ambassador. This engraving carries with it a feeling of conviction that it is an actual representation of the scene, and not—as is the case with earlier and with some later work—that the artist is drawing on his imagination. In many of the earlier prints it is difficult to judge if the artist is depicting what he imagined, or monsters and scenic effects actually constructed for the display.

It is worthy of note that even in early times, speaking pyrotechnically, the value of water in enhancing the effect of fireworks seems to have been realised. The display at Stockholm we have already mentioned appears to have taken place on the sea front. Many of the larger French displays of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were fired with a foreground of water; in those at Versailles full advantage was taken of the wonderful fountains and ornamental water, the display given in celebration of the entry of Louis XIV in Paris after his marriage being given on the Seine, and many of the early English displays took place on the Thames. Probably the earliest contemporary account of any length of a firework display in England is one headed “The Manner of Fire-Workes shewed up upon the Thames” in celebration of the marriage of Prince Frederick (Elector Palatine) with the daughter of James I in 1613. We read “many artificiall concusions in Fire-Workes were upon the Thames performed.

“First, for a welcome to the beholders a peale of Ordnance like unto a terrible thunder ratled in the ayre.... Secondly, followed a number more of the same fashion, spredding so strangely with sparkling blazes, that the skie seemed to be filled with fire.... After this, in a most curious manner, an artificiall fire-worke with great wonder was seen flying in the ayre, like unto a fiery Dragon, against which another fierrie vision appeared flaming like to Saint George on Horsebacke, brought in by a burning Inchanter, between which was then fought a most strange battell continuing a quarter of an howre or more; the dragon being vanquished, seemed to roar like thunder, and withall burst in pieces, and so vanished; but the champion, with his flaming horse, for a little time made a shew of a tryumphant conquest, and so ceased.

Great Firework Display near Stockholm, July, 1669. To celebrate the Investiture of Charles XI, King of Sweden, with the Order of the Garter by King Charles II.

“After this was heard another ratling sound of Cannons, almost covering the ayre with fire and smoke, and forthwith appeared, out of a hill of earth made upon the water, a very strange fire, flaming upright like unto a blazing starre. After which flew forth a number of rockets so high in the ayre, that we could not chose but approve by all reasons that Arte hath exceeded Nature, so artificially were they performed. And still as the Chambers and Culverines plaide upon the earth, the fire-workes danced in the ayre, to the great delight of his Highnes and the Princes.

“Out of the same mount or hill of earth flew another strange piece of artificiall fire-worke, which was in the likenes of a hunted Harte, running upon the water so swiftly, as it had been chaced by many huntsmen.

“After the same, issued out of the mount a number of hunting-hounds made of fire burning, pursuing the aforesaid Harte up and downe the waters, making many rebounds and turnes with much strangenes; skipping in the ayre as it had been a usual hunting upon land.

“These were the noble delights of Princes, and prompt were the wits of men to contrive such princely pleasures. Where Kings commands be, Art is stretcht to the true depth; as the performance of these Engineers have been approved.

“But now again to our wished sports: when this fiery hunting was extinguished, and that the Elements were a little cleared from fire and smoke, there came sailing up, as it were upon the Seas, certaine ships and gallies bravely rigged with top and top gallant, with their flagges and streamers waving like Men of Warr, which represented a Christian name opposed against the Turkes; where, after they had awhile hovered, preparing as it were, to make an incursion into the Turkish country, they were discovered by her Towers or Castles of defence, strongly furnished to intercept all such invading purposes, so sending forth the reports of a cannon, they were bravely answered with the like from the gallies, banding fire and powder one from another, as if the God of Battle had been there present.

“Here was the manner of a sea-fight rightly performed: First, by assailing one another, all striving for victorie, and pursuing each other with fire and sword: the Culverines merrily plaid betwixt them, and made the ayre resound with thundering echoes; and at last to represent the joyes of a victorie, the Castles were sacked, burned, and ruinated, and the defenders of the same forced to escape with great danger.”

The foregoing appears to be the only full account of a display in England during the early part of the seventeenth century, but in the first serious work on fireworks, “Pyrotechnia,” by John Babington, “gunner and student of the mathematicks,” we find a proposed programme for “a generall piece of fire-worke for land, for the pleasure of a Prince or some great person.” The spectacle consists of two castles with mechanical effects, but includes such devices as horizontal and vertical wheels, flights of rockets, line rockets and “torches of beautifull fire.” Babington also describes the St. George and Dragon device, which is merely scenic, the figures being of wickerwork and canvas with slight firework effects. At this time, according to a “History of Colleges in and arround London,” there were “many men very skilful in the art of pyrotechny and fireworks.”

In a book on fireworks, published in the same year, by John Bate, the author concludes by saying: “I might have been infinite in the describing of such like with Ships, Towers, Castles, Pyramides. But, considering that it would but increase the price of the book and not better your understanding, since all consist of the former workes, which are so plainly described as that the most ignorant may easily conceive thereof, and (if any whit ingenious) thence contrive others, of what fashion they list.” From this it would appear that firework displays were by that date a well-established institution.

Pepys, in his account of the coronation of Charles II, 1661, says: “We staid upon the leads and below till it was late, expecting to see the fireworks, but they were not performed to-night.” He seems to have looked upon fireworks as a matter of course on such an occasion. However, a display of considerable size did take place, conducted by Sir Martin Beckman, later Firemaster to James II, who was responsible for most of the important displays until 1706. One of the earliest prints of an English firework display is that depicting the fireworks on the Thames at Whitehall for the coronation of James II, 1685, in which the artist appears to have drawn somewhat on his imagination.

Three years later an elaborate display was given on the Thames to celebrate the birth of an heir to the throne, who was afterwards known as the Old Pretender. In the same year we again see fireworks on the Thames, this time to celebrate the reception of the Prince of Orange.

In 1690 displays were given, again on the Thames, and in Covent Garden, on the occasion of the King’s return from Ireland.

The taking of Namur, 1695, was celebrated by a display in St. James’s Square, and on the same site two years later, the celebrations for the Peace of Riswick. This latter is depicted in a fine engraving, giving the following list of fireworks used on the occasion:—“1,000 Sky Rockets, from four to six pounds weight; 200 Shell; 2,400 Pumps with Starrs (Roman Candles); 1,000 Cones; 7,000 Reports; 15,000 Swarms; 400 Light Balls; 23 Rocket Chests, each containing 60 rockets from one to four pounders.”

John Evelyn, in his “Diary,” says: “The evening concluded with illuminations and fireworks of great expense.” The display cost £12,000.

There seem to have been no fireworks in London at the coronation of either Anne or the first two Georges, although on the former occasion rockets appear to have been fired from the Fleet at Spithead.

The Peace Rejoicings of 1713 were the occasion of another display on the Thames off Whitehall, the erection being about 400 feet long on barges chained together in the stream. A feature of this display was the water fireworks, described as: “1,500 small and large water Rockets; 5 large water Pyramids; 4 water fountains; 13 Pumps; 21 standing Rockets, with lights all swimming on the water; 84 of Coll Borgards; large and small Bees swarms, half of which were set with lights to swim on the water.”

The next event to be celebrated by firework displays on a large scale was the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle; these were given at Paris, The Hague, London, and St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin. The Duke of Richmond was responsible for a display on the Thames off Whitehall, the official display taking place in Green Park, and was on a scale unequalled in this country until well into the last century. It was conducted by the famous pyrotechnist Gaetano Ruggieri, who came over from France for the purpose, assisted by Gioseppe Sarti, under the direction of the Board of Ordnance.

Fireworks on the Thames, June 17th, 1688. To celebrate the birth of a son to King James II. known to fame first as the Prince of Wales, and afterwards as the Old Pretender.

Following the practice of the period, an elaborate structure was prepared. The following is taken from the official programme:

“A DESCRIPTION OF THE MACHINE FOR THE FIREWORKS, &c.

“The Machine is 114 feet high to the Top of His Majesty’s arms, and is 410 feet long. It was invented and designed by the Chevalier Servandoni and all the framing was performed by Mr. James Morris, Master Carpenter to the Office of Ordnance.

“The Ornaments of this Machine are all in Relief, and it is adorned with Frets, Gilding, Lustres, Artificial Flowers, Inscriptions, Statues, Allegorical Pictures, etc.”

According to a contemporary newspaper report, the construction occupied from November 7th until April 26th. It was composed of timber covered with canvas, whitewashed and sized.

The display commenced about six o’clock, and continued until after twelve; during the display the left wing caught fire, which prevented the firing of some of the devices. Indeed, according to Walpole, the Duke of Richmond’s display on the Thames a few weeks later consisted largely of fireworks which had not been fired owing to this occurrence, and which the noble duke had bought up cheap.

Among the items were included the following:—Regulated Pieces, Fixed Suns, Stars of six Points, and between each point a Ray, a large vertical Sun moved by double Fires, Cascades, Pyramids (40 feet high) of Gerbs, etc., etc. The chief piece seems to be one “from whence Fire issues out and retires within, twelve times alternately; when without, it forms a Glory; when within, it composes a Star of eight Points, and then changes to a Royal brilliant Wheel, whose Fire is thirty feet in diameter, and is moved by twelve fires.”

The remainder of this century in England appears to be rather barren of firework displays on a large scale.

A writer in the “St. James’s Chronicle,” under the date February 18th, 1764, in a letter advocating certain improvements in St. James’s Park, evidently recalling the outcry over the 1749 display, observes: “We had no fireworks at the peace last year, that will surely obviate any argument preferred against the expense of the undertaking.”

Until nearly the end of the eighteenth century, according to Strutt, writing at that time, it was customary “for the Train of Artillery to display a grand fire-work on Tower Hill, on the King’s Birthday, but owing to the disturbances that occurred, the inhabitants a few years since petitioned against it.” There was, however, a great increase in the number of displays. Fireworks became a feature of the programme of the majority of the then fashionable tea and pleasure gardens.

Walpole describes a firework display given in 1763 by the notorious Duchess of Kingston, who was thirteen years later tried by her peers on a charge of bigamy.

The display appears to have taken place in Hyde Park, opposite the residence of the Duchess, then at the height of her popularity. He records that “the fireworks were fine and succeeded well.” One item seems curious to modern ideas; it took the form of a cenotaph for the Princess Elizabeth, a sister of the king, bearing the inscription: “All honours the dead can receive.”

The sequel was even more extraordinary, as “about one in the morning this Sarcophagus burst into crackers and guns.”

Firework Display given by the Duke of Richmond on the Thames off Whitehall, May 15th, 1749, to celebrate the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle.

Lieutenant Jones, who published a book on fireworks in 1765, in his preface makes the following remarks:

“I own I cannot help reflecting with some kind of chagrin that whenever we have had occasion for these sort of diversions to be exhibited in England we have almost always had recourse to foreigners to execute them; if this has been owing to the ignorance of our own people on this subject I shall be very happy if it is in my power to correct it; if it is only owing to that prevailing fondness we entertain for everything foreign I know no remedy for that evil but time and experience.”

To a certain extent his complaint seems justified; as we have seen, the Aix-la-Chapelle celebrations were conducted by foreigners—Ruggieri and Sarti. Later in the century, Morel Torré, who, as previously mentioned, collaborated with Ruggieri in pyrotechnic displays for Louis XV, and several other pyrotechnists came to this country and conducted displays. At the same time, however, there were undoubtedly many capable pyrotechnists of English nationality, who found scope for their abilities in the exhibitions given in the pleasure gardens of London and the provinces in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

A history of pyrotechny would not be complete without a survey of these popular places of amusement, and we propose in the following chapter to give a brief summary of the better known places of resort.