French engineer Salomon de Caus published a book illustrating various devices powered by steam, including a fountain that operated by steam pressure. De Caus, who worked as an engineer for Louis XIII, described how to raise water using the expansion of steam, similar to earlier designs. His work spread knowledge of steam power among educated circles in Europe.

De Caus's work is part of the 17th-century tradition of 'machine books' that fed the popular imagination with visions of mechanical wonders. These books, often illustrated, inspired poets to write about the potential of human ingenuity to control the elements. The idea of a steam-powered fountain, for instance, became a metaphor for the power of art and science.