The Big Bomb in the Park.

Slip song, 215 x 85 mm. The Big Bomb, or, The Grand Mortar, was a gift from the Spanish nation in honour of the Duke of Wellington; it stands with two other guns opposite Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall. It was installed and decorated to commemorate the Siege of Cadiz [1810 - 12], in which a small number of Spanish and allied soldiers held off sixty thousand French troops. The long siege included a massive artillery bombardment from a distance previously thought to be impossible involving some of the largest artillery pieces in existence at the time. These ‘grand mortars’ had a range of up to 3 miles and were so large that they had to be abandoned when the French eventually retreated. This mortar is one of those left behind. The carriage was built by the Royal Arsenal and was elaborately decorated with an allegorical figure of the monster Geryon from the labours of Hercules. National Library of Scotland has the only other recorded copy; their copy having a woodcut illustration above the title.

Product Info

Publisher: Printed and sold by J.Pitts, [1814]

Type: Used

Binding: Softcover

Seller Info

MichaelKempBookseller

Address: 19 Adelaide Gardens Sheeness, Kent

Website: https://michaelkemp.co.uk

Country: United Kingdom