Explosive history: fireworks and how-to books in the seventeenth century
The University of Glasgow Library presents, "Explosive history: fireworks and how-to books in the seventeenth century ", a talk by Dr James Fox. James Fox is a Research Associate at the University of Glasgow working on the AHRC- and DFG-funded project, ‘Take Me and Make it Happen! How-to Books from the Ferguson Collection, Glasgow, and Corresponding Holdings from the Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel’
University of Glasgow Library Re: reading public programme
Date: Wednesday 05 November 2025
Time: 13:10 - 13:35
Venue: University of Glasgow Library, Level 2 Exhibition Space
Category: Public lectures
Speaker: Dr James Fox
Before and after the 1605 Gunpowder Plot, fireworks were an important part of celebrations and festivals in Britain. But who knew how to make them? This talk introduces some of the books that instructed readers in the art of pyrotechnics, and discusses the wider phenomenon of the how-to book in early modern Europe through examples found in the Ferguson Collection at University of Glasgow Library.
This talk is part of the University of Glasgow Library Re:reading public programme. Re:reading is an exhibition in the Library entrance foyer which explores libraries and collections as dynamic collaborative spaces, where fresh insights can be uncovered through evolving scholarship, fresh analytical techniques and novel interpretations of collections.