Monumenta pulveris pyrii. Reproductions of ancient pictures concerning the history of gunpowder, with explanatory notes
Monumenta pulveris pyrii is a 1906 collection of reproduced early pictures on the history of gunpowder, compiled and annotated by Oscar Guttmann and published by Artists Press. Its plates are photographic facsimiles of medieval and early modern manuscript and print illustrations, with explanatory notes for scholars of military technology. The pictures show craftsmen at work: a figure grinding or pressing material at a mortar, a man weighing substances on a balance, a hooded alchemist at a bench, and a workshop with tubs and a barrel. A designer might take their spare line work, hatched shading and hand-lettered captions as models for historical technical diagrams.
