Audot, old French firework book

[Arthur]

I have recently come across a French language firework book of some age, It's labelled Audot bw pt1 bw as a PDF

 

Has anyone read this book before? Does anyone have a English translation? And is there a part two (or 3 etc).

[SeaMonkey]

A search at the Book Depository reveals a good number of books

authored by an "Audot."

 

I am wondering, is "Audot" the title of the book or is it the author's

name?

 

Do you have any more info that might enable tracking it down?

[Siegmund]

I assume the full citation is Louis-Eustache Audot (1825), "L'art de faire a peu de frais les feux d'artifice pour les fetes de famille."

 

Amazon lists a 2016 reprint of it. It can be viewed, after a fashion, for free at https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6554424t.texteImage

 

I am far from fluent in French, so haven't investigated further.

[Arthur]

I have a friend who lives in France, I'll give him the link, I'm hoping for a translation, but he's not a fireworker.

[RichardH08]

The title translates as 'The art of making, at little cost, fireworks for family celebrations'.

 

I've had a quick look through it and find that the devices and compositions are quite typical for early in the 19th century - there appears to be nothing that you couldn't find in other books written around that time, such as Cutbush's 'A System of Pyrotechny' (coincidentally, also first published in 1825). But it appears to be written in a far less tedious style than that used by Cutbush.

 

At around 100 pages in length, translating it would be a non-trivial task, and I'd have to be convinced that it was worth the effort.

[RichardH08]

If anyone is interested, I've found that Hachette Livre published a paperback reproduction of Audot's book in 2018.

 

They have also published a reproduction of the 1883 edition of Tessier's 'Chimie Pyrotechnique'. A reproduction of Chertier's 'Nouvelles recherches sur les feux d'artifice', of 1854, also exists, but I don't know who publishes it. This latter is one of the first books to describe the use of potassium chlorate to produce coloured flames.

 

However, they are all in French and I'm not aware that any English translations exist.

[wncranger]

 

RichardH08, definitely interested in any and all pyrotechnic works. I think it would be awesome to recreate their effects for a period event. I'm working on a translations of Audot's book and am wondering if anyone has a source for all four volumes.

 

[RichardH08]

I don't yet have a hard copy, but I've had a look through the electronic version that Siegmund gave a link to earlier in this thread. It's actually quite a short book; although it is around 100 pages long, there is not a huge amount of text on each page. But I've not seen any evidence that there has ever been more than one published volume.

 

For my own amusement, I translated the first few pages, with the result shown below. The translation probably needs a bit of tidying up, but it should give an idea of the flavor of the book. (The aptness of my choice of the word 'flavor' should be clear by the time you reach the end of the extract!)

 

The art of making, at little cost, fireworks for family celebrations
Chapter One
The materials that are used in fireworks
Saltpeter
Saltpeter (potassium nitrate) is the most essential agent in (gun)powder because it is that which, by the air it forcefully emits, is the cause of its detonation; the sulfur and carbon that are added serve only to ignite it and make it burn. In effect, if one places a hot coal on some saltpeter, it sets it on fire and it is seen to produce a flame which it emits with violence; but if one removes the coal the combustion of the saltpeter stops instantly. Thus it is only by its mixture with sulfur and charcoal that it is possible to produce that lightning of war which we call gunpowder; and it is also the base of our fireworks, whether we use it in these latter items ready-made or we make mixtures of these three principal materials, as we shall see specified for each composition.
The saltpeter must have been thrice cooked in order to be purged of all foreign substances. Its quality can be verified by placing a well dried and pulverized sample on a board. A piece of red-hot coal is placed at its center; if it produces a pinkish white flame and, after having burned, leaves only a white ash, it is of a sufficiently good quality. On the contrary, if it bubbles or spits and leaves a grey, green or yellow, greasy deposit, it contains foreign salts or earthy material; it must be further purified.
If it is necessary to know the art of making saltpeter, we will indicate, according to modern chemists, the best way to succeed.
Making Saltpeter
Saltpeter is found in greater abundance in hot and dry countries than in countries where rain is frequent. However, it is found in sufficient quantities in France in old, demolished buildings, and particularly in the earth floor of stables and caves. The means of recognizing its presence in these materials is to place a small sample on the tongue: the coolness and the salty taste are certain indicators that they contain it. It often forms on the lower parts of the walls; when it is only necessary to scrape it off and to purify it as will be explained later...

[wncranger]

I've been translating the book and you are correct, nothing new. It's a rather mundane work that looks to be written for amateurs. There are no secret compositions or devices. Still, it's not a bad work and could have been written today. I wouldn't mind drinking the brandy they use for dampening compositions, lol.

 

The title translates as 'The art of making, at little cost, fireworks for family celebrations'.

 

I've had a quick look through it and find that the devices and compositions are quite typical for early in the 19th century - there appears to be nothing that you couldn't find in other books written around that time, such as Cutbush's 'A System of Pyrotechny' (coincidentally, also first published in 1825). But it appears to be written in a far less tedious style than that used by Cutbush.

 

At around 100 pages in length, translating it would be a non-trivial task, and I'd have to be convinced that it was worth the effort.

[RichardH08]

I've been translating the book and you are correct, nothing new. It's a rather mundane work that looks to be written for amateurs. There are no secret compositions or devices. Still, it's not a bad work and could have been written today. I wouldn't mind drinking the brandy they use for dampening compositions, lol.

 

 

I agree – on all counts! But it’s not surprising that there is a limited range of compositions. They are typical of the time, when effective colored compositions were yet to be discovered. But it’s nicely written, with instructions that are very clear to follow.

 

There’s one piece of advice that probably wouldn’t appear in a book written today; in talking about serpents, after saying they can be used in mortars or rockets, he adds something like:

 

“It’s also amusing to launch them from the hand, by throwing them into the air as soon as they have been ignited. Distributing a few to the youngsters, at a family celebration, contributes more than a little to the fun.”