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Displays took place at Versailles (1751) on the occasion of the birth of the Duke of Burgundy. In 1758–9 came a further series of victory celebrations in honour of the victory of Lutzelberg, over the English in America, and over the Allies at Bergheri, all of which appear to have been of the “tableau” type mentioned above.

There were also displays for the peace celebrations on the Seine, 1763, the birth of the Dauphin, 1782, in the Place de Geneve, and peace rejoicings, 1783, before the Hotel de Ville.

Ruggieri, however, states in his book that the display fired on the marriage of Louis XVI (or, as he then was, the Dauphin) was the only display since the great fetes of 1739 which showed any considerable advance in the art; he may, however, be in some degree biased as his father was concerned in each of these displays.

Firework Display at Nuremberg, 1650. From a contemporary engraving

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During the later part of the seventeenth century, and subsequently, many prints appeared depicting firework displays; their number seems quite out of proportion to the total number of prints published in that period.