Abstract

This article begins by tracing the history that led to the construction of the first fully Dutch steam engine on the country estate of an urban oligarch. The goal here is to highlight the role of gardens and fountain design in the early development of steam engines and emphasize that Dutch interest in steam during the eighteenth century was based largely on issues related to drainage and water management. This concern with the landscape - whether on a private estate or in the "national garden" - is examined more broadly in the rest of the article, which treats the historical significance of placing such a novel apparatus in the Dutch landscape, both physically and symbolically. While the 'machine in the garden' proved a menacing image in other cultures, the steam engine's first Dutch advocates projected it as an Arcadian apparatus.

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