Rocket, spraying vessels and a figure at a basin
Drawings apparently of pyrotechnic or incendiary devices; accompanying text in a later hand, untranscribed
The opening bears drawings by a different, later hand, whose text the critical edition left untranscribed, so nothing here is read from the writing itself. On the left a long tube set at a steep diagonal throws out a scattered shower of small flame-like marks, in the manner of a rocket or firework casting sparks. On the right several pots and vessels emit fine streams, a serpentine form coils below, and a standing man tends a large basin filled with round balls beside a small pot. The imagery is consistent with the making and use of pyrotechnic or incendiary charges; further untranscribed text in the later hand runs beneath both drawings.
On this page
Rocket trailing a shower of sparks
The left half shows a long, narrow tube inclined at a steep angle, with a loose cluster of small flame- or spark-like strokes thrown out near its head, as a rocket or firework scatters sparks. Untranscribed text in a later hand accompanies the drawing.
Vessels and a figure preparing round charges
On the right half, several pots and vessels are drawn from which thin streams or sprays issue, together with a serpentine coil and a standing man working over a large basin filled with round balls, with a small pot below. The drawings are consistent with the preparation of incendiary or pyrotechnic charges.