Minneapolis Institute of Art

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

Jan van der Heyden

Date

1690

Medium

Engravings, letterpress

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

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

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