Major Books, Maps and Manuscripts from Martayan Lan
- by Michael Stillman
Georg Bockler’s barbecue pit.
Speaking of mechanical devices, here is a book full of them: Theatrum Machinarum Novum, by Georg Andreas Bockler. Offered is a scarce second German edition from 1673 (first published in 1661). This is a heavily illustrated book about machinery. It is not fanciful machines, as often shown in the days, but real machines in current operation. It displays pumps, mills, waterwheels, windmills, knife sharpeners, water-raising machines, a fire engine, outdoor fountain, even the roasting spit displayed on this page. There were machines powered by water, wind, animals, and humans. There are a total of 154 engraved plates. Many of the illustrations were “borrowed” by others for their works over the next century. Item 32. $9,850.
