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Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare representative view of the 1662 - illustrated book.
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  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare representative view of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare feature view of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare photograph of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare example from the work of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare detail of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare notable image of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare interesting detail of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare detail of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare detail view of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare feature view of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare notable image of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare image from the book of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare example image of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare example from the work of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare representative view of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare feature view of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare photograph of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare example from the work of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare detail of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare notable image of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare interesting detail of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare detail of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare detail view of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare feature view of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare notable image of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare image from the book of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare example image of the 1662 - illustrated book.
  • Theatrum Machinarum Novum by Böckler, Georg Andreas, a rare example from the work of the 1662 - illustrated book.
Theatrum Machinarum Novum

A spectacular stage of 17th-century machines, where art and invention steal the show.

Böckler, Georg Andreas

Theatrum Machinarum Novum
Exhibens Aquarias, Alatas, Iumentarias, Manuarias, Pedibus, Ac Ponderibus Versatiles, Plures, Et Diversas Molas (...)

1662, Nuremberg (Norimberga), Pauli Principis

2nd Edition

$3,700 USD

Overview

The modest binding gives little hint of the richness hidden within: Böckler’s Theatrum Machinarum Novum is one of the most influential machine books of the seventeenth century, contemporary with Ramelli, Zonca, and Schott. Its chief importance lies in offering a systematic approach to mechanical knowledge spanning hydraulics, milling, mining, and industry marking a transition from artisanal tradition to early scientific engineering. The engravings at the heart of the volume are not mere technical diagrams but large scenographic compositions that fuse art, science, and architecture. The theatricality of the late Renaissance merges with Baroque ingenuity, creating a rare synthesis that appeals equally to collectors of engineering history, architecture, book arts, and the history of printing.

Inside the book

In this second edition (the first in Latin, following the original German), the frontispiece presents an allegory introducing the subject: Archimedes, personifying Studium (study), stands at left, while a mechanic or engineer, symbolizing Labor (labor), appears at right. Behind the drawn curtain unfolds a lively industrial scene with mills, aqueducts, and water-powered machines, all framed by classical architecture. The title page credits Georg Andreas Böckler (1617–1687), architect and engineer, with Henricus Schmitz as translator. Its long Latin subtitle announces the wide scope of machines described: water-lifting, air-driven, manual, treadwheel, screw, hydraulic, and milling devices, with applications ranging from grain-grinding, paper-making, nitre production, and fulling cloth to sawing wood, pressing oil, and firefighting. The prefatory address Ad Techniphilum Lectorem (“To the technology-loving reader”) exalts mechanics as a divine gift and underscores the practical value of mechanical arts in agriculture, milling, engines, and hydraulics. A detailed index catalogs 154 machines and devices, hand mills, horse-powered mills, windmills, water mills, screws, siphons, pumps, trip hammers, and fire-extinguishing engines, classified under evocative names such as Chiromylos, Hipponylos, Anemomylos, Hydromylos, Nitromylos, and Trypanomylos. Following just 55 pages of text, the reader encounters 154 superbly printed full-page engravings, richly inked, etched by Eberhard Kieser and Balthasar Schwan after Böckler’s own designs. They depict ingenious hydraulic and mechanical devices powered by wind, water, human labor, or animals, each corresponding precisely to the machines catalogued in the index. The last plate is particularly notable, being one of the earliest printed accounts of a fire engine tied to a known maker and date (Hautsch, 1658). It describes large siphons of copper, brass, and iron, designed to project water to extinguish fires. Positioned strategically “ubi domus flagrant” (“where houses are burning”), they employed dual chambers for continuous pumping and could raise water 80–100 feet- an extraordinary range for the period. Both fixed and portable models are described, the latter light enough for a single operator. Built and tested in Nuremberg in 1658 by Joannes Hautsch, these were among the earliest practical fire engines capable of reaching rooftops, cementing his legendary reputation in mechanical invention.

Why La Fenice chose it

While the mechanics and physics completely escape this reader, the engravings are as captivating as scenes from a grand Baroque theater. Each page bursts with imagination - mills, wheels, siphons, and screws transformed into works of art - whose sheer beauty and ingenuity enchant the eye. One doesn’t need to grasp the science to be utterly swept away by the spectacle of invention.
Condition Report

Pp. [1] f.e., [2] frontispiece, 10, 55, 154 numbered plates, [1] r.e.

Contemporary rustic marbled paperboard binding, somewhat worn. Well-executed restorations and reinforcements to the first dozen leaves. Some browning to text pages. Worming repaired at pp. 79–89 in the upper left margin, outside the illustrations. Further reinforcements at the final leaves in the inner margin, again outside the images. Given the value of the volume, these restorations were necessary and competently done. The 154 plates are in excellent condition. Overall, a remarkable copy.
Reference: Brunet I:1024; Graesse I:459.

Dimensions (inches): 12 x 9 x 1 3/4
About the author

Georg Andreas Böckler (1617–1687): German architect and engineer, noted for works on hydraulics, fountains, and architecture.
Eberhard Kieser (1583–1631): German engraver and publisher.
Balthasar Schwan (active 17th c.): German engraver and publisher, collaborated on illustrated architectural and technical works.

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