About this collection

Oscar Guttmann (1855-1910) was an explosives engineer and chemist who specialized in fireworks. He worked in a number of explosives works throughout Europe, including Austria, Hungary, Italy, and Switzerland, before establishing himself as a consulting engineer in London with the firm of Oscar Guttmann & Sons, which assisted in the construction of explosives works in the Europe and the United States.

During his career he assembled a collection of books and manuscripts on the history of European firearms, explosives and military science. In 1911 his son, Leo Guttmann, sold the collection to Pierre S. du Pont. This collection was acquired by Hagley Library after the 1961 transfer of Longwood Library materials to Hagley Library.

The Oscar Guttmann collection on explosives, firearms, and military science consists of 16 manuscript items and includes a Feuerwerkbuch, roughly translated as “fireworks book” dating to 1450, making it the oldest item in Hagley Library's collections. Two items from the collection have not been scanned due to their condition.

Image: Plate 30, Fortification Régulière de Mr. Maréchal de Vauban, ca. 1725?