A rare counterfeit edition of a fireworks manual by Amédée-François Frézier

A rare counterfeit edition of a fireworks manual by Amédée-François Frézier. First published in 1706, this is easily the most influential fireworks manual of early modern Europe.

Divided into three parts it subsequently treats the ingredients of fireworks, the production of various types of fireworks, and finally fireworks displays.

Frezier's "book describes coloured fires, Roman candles, set pieces, fireworks burning under water, etc. and is particularly detailed on rockets, incl. those of repeated flight [...], i.e. the prototype of the modern stratosphere rockets and also military rockets containing devices which caused them to rotate in flight" (Partington).

Amédée-François Frézier (1682–1773) was a French military engineer, mathematician, and explorer with a talent for fortifications and a keen interest in recreational fireworks. He is best known for his trip to South America from 1712 to 1714. During this time, he mapped the coasts of Chile and Peru, while secretly gathering information on Spanish defenses.

But his most unexpected legacy? Bringing a superior strain of strawberries back to Europe—laying the foundation for the modern garden strawberry.

An enlarged edition was published in 1747.