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There is an extensive literature on the construction and deployment of pyrotechnics. See Chris Phillips, A Bibliography of Fireworks , Books, published in association with St.Paul's Bibliographies, 1985.
 
01 from a Coca Cola advert, July 1962
 
02 John Babington, Pyrotechnia, or A Discourse of Artificial Fire-Works London 1635. illustrated book on the Festivals of Versailles ,published in 1665. engraving from a description of an allegorical firework display given in the presence of the Emperor Catherine the Great in the winter of 1765 at St.Petersburg in Russia.

03  from Dore's magnificent Histoire de la Sainte Russe
celebration in St.Petersburg of a crushing victory

04 Utagawa Hiroshige, Fireworks over Ryogoku bridge, 1858 from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo 22 x 33 cms.

05 an engraving depicting the reception given to Louis XIII and Anne of Austria in the town of Lyons in France in December 1622. As a final event, the barge decorated with the emblem of the Sun, exploded.
 

06 Katherine Milhous, Through these Arches, The Story of Independence Hall, Lippincott Phil/NY 1964.

07  Tomaso Moretti, A General Treatise of Artillery (Appendix of Artificial Fireworks for War and Delight), London 1698.  

08  Webster Murray's lithograph from Alan St.H.Brock's Fireworks and Fetes ,Puffin Picture Book, Penguin, c1955. 18 x 21 cms.
 
09 Jean Appier ( Hanzelet) La Pyrotechnie... ou sont representez les plus rares & plus appreuez secrets des machines & des feux artificiels Bernard, Pont á Mousson 1630. A marvellous image this, combining the visual entertainment with military application, rivalling the Suns in the sky.