The pirotechnia of Vannoccio Biringuccio: by Cyril Stanley Smith and Martha Teach Gnudi. 476 pages, illustrations, 20 × 27 cms. New York, The American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, 1942
✍ Scribed by R.H. Oppermann
- Book ID
- 104133417
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 1943
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 66 KB
- Volume
- 235
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0016-0032
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
This translation from Italian is published by the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. It has been made possible by a grant from the Seely W. Mudd Memorial Fund, administered by a committee composed of Harvey S. Mudd, H. DeWitt Smith, and George Otis Smith.
Vannoccio Biringuccio was born in Siena in I48o. He was a master craftsman in the practices of smelting and of metal working. Contrary to the customs of a trade, Biringuccio imparted his knowledge to all who would be interested and thus gave the earliest printed work to cover the whole field of metallurgy, the subject of this translation. There were several editions of the work published. This translation is of the first edition published in 154 °after the death of the author. Previous to the appearance of Pirotechnia there was considerable manuscript and printed material, some of which treated on parts of the field of metallurgy.
Agricola's first work on mining was published in 153o and there were several books on alchemy, but of the 3o,ooo works printed in the fifteenth century, not one was on lnetallurgy.
Pirotechnia is a classic which should furnish background and perspective to all engaged in the metallurgical profession. The author wrote exactly as if he were speaking to interested parties of his work at the time, a fact which has made the translating especially difficult. The work is divided into ten main topics designated as books. They are headed (I) Every Kind of Mineral, in General. This covers the various ores and includes a description of the practices of making steel and brass; (2) The Semiminerals. Contains a great variety such as quicksilver, sulphur, antimony, vitriol, azure, glass, etc.; (3) Assaying and Preparing Ores for Smelting; (4) The Separation of Gold from Silver; (5) The Alloys that are Formed between Metals. These are the alloy of gold, of silver with copper and of lead and tin; (6) The Artof Casting in General and Particular; (7) Methods of Melting Metals; (8) The Small Art of Casting; (9) The Procedure of Various Works of Fire, whichcovers the arts of the goldsmith, coppersmith, and pewterer; (IO) On Certain Combustible Materials and the Procedures Followed in Making Fireworks to be Used in Warfare and for Festivals. There are 84 illustrations and four interesting appendices.
The work is in terms of practice concerned with carrying out operations on metals for profit and use. The rugged individualism of Biringuccio prevails throughout. A surprising revelation for a 16th century work is that he recognizes ill luck as nothing but ignorance or carelessness, ttis evaluation of alchemy is astonishingly modern. Modern also is his lealization of the advantages of large scale operation and his advice on the use of water power driven machinery in place of hand labor whenever possible. His work reflects an established capitalistic economy, an example of which is his recommendation for short shifts in mining (6 or 8 hours) but only because new and rested meu enable the proprietor sooner to achieve profit.
Cyril Stanley Smith and Martha Teach Gnudi have provided here an admirable translation of a book which makes available in English a distinct contribution to culture.