Rinman's Treatise on Mechanics

The Cover Design RINMAN'S TREATISE ON MECHANICS TORSTEN ALTHIN The ornamental emblem reproduced on the cover of this issue of Technology and Culture is taken from a title page of a book printed in 1794. The copper engraving depicts instruments, tools, and technical devices in common use for centuries in mining and metallurgy, but the artist has arranged them in the style of heraldic bearings symbolizing the profession and activities of the author and also the contents of the book. This “coat of arms” has a special interest because the book’s author was Sven Rinman (1720-92), usually called the father of Swed­ ish metallurgy; the book is A-fhandling rorande mechaniquen, med tillampning i synnerhet til bruk och bergaverk (Treatise on Mechanics, with Particular Application to Iron Works and the Mining Industry [Stockholm 1794, 174 pp., 53 large-size copper engravings]). The Fore­ word was signed by Rinman in 1792, the year of his death, and two years before the book left the printing press. The book’s beautiful engravings were made and signed by John Grandel, who had studied the art of engraving in Paris from 1782 to 1786 and who had a reputation as a skilled expert. Unfortunately, little is known about his life and work. Although he did not sign the emblem reproduced here, there is every probability that he designed it when making an engraved copper plate for the title text and the emblem on the front page. Since the book deals with mining, we find in the emblem a bundle of rock drills and a miner’s sledge-hammer. There is a plane table on a tri­ pod, a set square, and an angle gauge indicating surveying work; and a sheet of paper standing for engineering drawings. The windlass (winch), tackle, and axe represent construction work; the waterwheel represents the contemporary engine for operating tilthammers, bellows, rolling mills, gun-boring machines, and other mechanical devices de­ scribed in the book. Rinman, in this book, combines theories of mechanics with practical applications. Written when he was about seventy years old, the book’s contents represent a comprehensive summary of a lifetime of knowledge and experience in mechanics, mining, and metallurgy. A supplementary volume (numbered Volume I) was written and published by Eric Nordwall in 1800. Dr. Althin, founder and former director of the Tekniska Museet, is now head of the Institutet for Teknikhistoria in Stockholm. 185 186 Torsten Althin Along with his work as a director of mining and metallurgical op­ erations and as an adviser to proprietors and managers of mines and iron mills all over Sweden, which he performed on behalf of the Swedish Ironmasters’ Association (founded in 1747) and the Royal Mines Au­ thority (founded in 1637), Rinman also took time to contribute sub­ stantially to Swedish iron and steel production methods by publishing three more books of great importance. As a Fellow of the Royal Swed­ ish Academy of Sciences, he wrote some twenty-six essays for the Academy’s Transactions. Altogether his printed works amount to ap­ proximately 3,000 pages. All this writing required assistance; at the end of his life, this was mostly given by his son Carl, who later also played an important role in the iron and steel industry. In any case, Sven Rinman’s publications, his handwritten reports to authorities, his unpublished travel reports, and other manuscripts (most of them in the possession of the Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm) are highly esteemed sources for the history of iron and steel making during the eighteenth century in Sweden as well as in other countries which he visited. One of his publications is repeatedly used by historians today, name­ ly, his Berg'werks-Lexicon (Dictionary of Mining and Metallurgy), 1,272 pages, published in 1788-89, and illustrated by thirty-four copper engravings, also by John Grandel. This book is far more than a dic­ tionary; it is a descriptive handbook recording in detail the mining and metallurgical methods used at the time and frequently comparing those in Sweden to other countries or to outdated methods. Alphabetically arranged, the technical terms are presented in Swedish, German, and sometimes in French. Two of

Art · Art history · Emblem · Mechanics · Painting · Physics · Sign (mathematics) · Style (visual arts) · Visual arts · Chaos, Complexity, and Education · Geotechnical and Geomechanical Engineering · History · Mathematics · Mechatronics Education and Applications · Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Steels · Philosophy