Beschryving der niewlijks uitgevonden en geoctrojeerde slang-brand-spuiten, en haare wijze van brand-blussen, tegenwoordig binnen Amsterdam in gebruik zijnde

From the Minneapolis Institute of Art record

Though now known primarily as a brilliant painter of cityscapes, in his own time, Jan van de Heyden was famous for his inventions and administrative ability. This book describes improvements that he and his brother made in firefighting techniques and apparatus, especially more portable pumps equipped with long hoses that shot the water right at the source of the flames. The invention, a precursor to today’s fire engines, was so successful that he was named fire chief of the city of Amsterdam. Van der Heyden used his talents as an artist to produce dramatic and detailed illustrations that bring us to the site of nighttime fires, such at the one that destroyed the Amsterdam’s Town Hall, July 7, 1652. One remarkable plate shows a cross section of a burning home, thus telling us much about the architecture and furnishing of an upper middle-class home just as it is under threat. Netherlands, Europe