Johann Bessler information

[John Collins]

Dgraphic, everything I know will be in the new book.  More than half of it is taken up with an explanation of the coded clues, and there are literally dozens and dozens of them.  There will be plans, but I don't know if I have enough to build the replica of Bessler's whel, but I think so.  Any way everytthing will be included.  Thanks for your encouragement guys.

CharlieV, I think you can see that there are a lot of clues about how the wheel worked and I am confident that someone will do it this year and what better time than now?

John

[DrWhat]

Hi John,

any idea of a date of publication (paper or online?).

Thanks

[John Collins]

any idea of a date of publication (paper or online?).

I can only say I hope it will be soon and probably August/September this year.

John

[hansvonlieven]

G'day all,

I owe you an apology for leading you up the garden path in one of my comments. I had honestly thought that woodcuts were no longer in common use for technical drawings in Bessler's time. This is not so. I have just received a book of Helmholz lectures published in 1825 and they used woodcuts for the technical illustrations. I did a bit of checking.

Deep etching as used today and used in letterpresses has apparently not been around all that long. In Besslers time etchings required intaglio printing whereas woodcuts could be used in a letterpress.

Sorry for the goof.

Hans von Lieven

[hansvonlieven]

G'day all,

On further examination of MT 138 (see post 29 this thread) I think I know now what figures A and B represent. I believe this to be the front and side view of the same device, a Jacob's ladder. It is an ancient toy, an example of which was found in King Tut's tomb. Bessler mentions the Jacob's ladder in his writings.

This is how it works:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/764310/jacobs_ladder_optical_illusion_toy/

Any comments?

Hans von Lieven