La mechanique du feu, ou l'art d'en augmenter les effets, & d'en diminuer la dépense : contenant le traité de nouvelles cheminées qui échauffent plus que les cheminées ordinaires, & qui ne sont point sujettes à fumer, &c.
Nicolas Gauger's 1714 treatise on fireplace mechanics, published by Schelte, sets out designs for chimneys meant to give more heat for less fuel and to stop smoking. Its engraved plates show floor plans, elevations and cutaway sections of hearths, firebacks and flue openings drawn with fine parallel hatching and small lettered keys. A designer can take from them a clear vocabulary of early modern hearth geometry, with its arches, hoods and throats.
