Dragon fire Explosive book on early fireworks to light up auction room

A 17TH century manual for building homemade fireworks using bed sheets and gunpowder has been unearthed complete with health and safety tips.

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The rare 1634 first edition, entitled The Mysteryes of Nature and Art, was found in an old wardrobe in Bristol

(PICS: SWNS/OMN)

The rare 1634 first edition, entitled The Mysteryes Of Nature And Art, was found in an old wardrobe in Bristol.

It was written by English author and inventor John Bate who offered a how-to guide to making your own pyrotechnics.

The DIY guide published 29 years after the Gunpowder Plot also gives health and safety advice which wouldn't be out of place at most modern fireworks events.

Tips include keeping a safe distance between the firework and spectators and mounting rockets on poles to prevent them from tipping over.

The book also advises people to use slow-burning “match cords” to allow the operator to retreat before the main charge ignites.

Users are advised to keep a bucket of sand nearby, much in line with the advice today.

The manual belonged to retired author Mark Williams, who wrote technical books.

It was passed to him after his parents inherited it from his grandfather and kept it in a wardrobe at their home in Bristol.

He said: "I'm not sure why they kept it there, probably for safe keeping.

"I do remember growing up being fascinated by all the Old English words and the diagrams."