1760. Engraved and etched broadside, image 494 x 575mm; plate mark 503 x 584mm; sheet size 525 x 610mm; title at head in German and Latin, with 40 engraved figures; a little browned and foxed, with some dust-soiling, with central vertical fold, with discrete repairs along verso of central fold, and left-hand margin; old accession numbers on verso; a good impression; mounted ready for framing A striking broadside, no doubt intended to be hung in classrooms, outlining the principles of statics, produced by the noted firm of Homann Erben in Nürnberg, the leading German map publisher of the 18th century. Providing an accessible and popular introduction to mechanical knowledge, five ‘simple machines’ are depicted, demonstrating the concepts of force, equilibrium and statics. The forty illustrations, together with accompanying descriptions and calculations, show a number of gear mechanisms, counterweights and pulleys, explaining ways in which forces combine with each other so as to produce equilibrium.
A separate series of three wallcharts highlighting the ‘important principles of friction’ (‘Richtige Grund=Sätze der Friction’) was published around the same time, depicting in all some 50 figures illustrating various pulleys, hoists, levers, rollers etc, based upon the works of Amontons (1663-1705) and Bélidor (1698-1761). The first broadside in this series was signed ‘ C. W. F. Rost delin, J. M. Selig, fecit’. Carl Willhelm Felix Rost (fl. 1740-1760) lectured in mathematics at Nürnberg, and collaborated on further architectural publications with Homann, as well as publishing works on chemistry. Johann Michael Seligmann (1720-1762) was a noted copper engraver, printer and bookseller, renowned in particular for natural history engravings, and for being an early exponent of nature printing. Though the present broadside is unsigned, it seems likely that both may have also been involved.
Johann Baptist Homann and his family were the foremost German map publishers of the 18th century, offering a truly comprehensive range of maps of all regions of the world. Rivalling the publications of the Blaeu dynasty in the Netherlands, the Homann families' maps and charts are renowned for being well engraved and balanced in their execution.