Studies of Spring-Powered Bow Engines
A large bow-armed engine on a trestle frame and a horizontal bent-bow spring mechanism
The sheet carries two pen-and-ink studies of spring- or bow-powered engines. The upper figure shows a large machine built on a braced trestle frame, dominated by a great curved, ribbed bow or arc, with a long straight beam projecting away to the right. The lower figure presents a horizontal mechanism in which a heavy bent bow is held under tension between two uprights on a rectangular base, apparently a device for storing and releasing spring force. Both drawings are accompanied by notes in mirror-script that are not transcribed in this edition, and a later inscription in a different hand runs along the lower edge.
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Large bow-armed engine on a trestle frame
The upper study shows a substantial engine mounted on an angled trestle. A great curved, ribbed bow or arc rises at the left while a long straight beam extends to the right, suggesting a large-scale weapon that stores its energy in the bent arc.
Horizontal bent-bow spring mechanism
The lower study is a horizontal assembly set on a rectangular base, in which a heavy bow is drawn back and clamped between two vertical posts fitted with levers. It reads as a mechanism for bending and holding a powerful spring.