SOLD Siege of Antwerp (1584) Fire Boats, Striking Mounted c. 1783 Bookplate Engraving antique finial I'm not sure from whence

I'm not sure from whence it came or how it came to be--someone very carefully cut out and mounted the information about the bookplate on the back of the frame--but it has a bit of the feel of having been hung in an old library or museum or science department

filled with drawings of people and houses and animals and ships and all sorts of other little things

Photos give a good sense--not every page documented

and some staining around the rim on the underside

with plenty of scratches and scuffs

SOLD Siege of Antwerp (1584) Fire Boats, Striking Mounted c. 1783 Bookplate Engraving antique finial I'm not sure from whenceNumerous finds today relating to fire, and water, and this one bridges the gap an 18th century engraving, copperplate print I believe, of "fire boats,"which were built and fielded by the defending Dutch rebels in the Siege of Antwerp, part of the Eight Years War against the Habsburgs. From what I understand, these ships, which functioned essentially as floating bombs, did immense damage, and have since been described as an early form of weapons of