Underwater art

Halley's diving bell. Leeghwater may have used a large inverted barrel. Reprinted from J.T. Desaguliers, A Course of Experimental Philosophy (London 1744).

Leeghwater first gained fame for his "underwater art. This probably involved a primitive diving bell. In April 1605, he and two companions gave a demonstration in a pond near The Hague for Princes Maurice and Frederik Hendrik. A year later, Leeghwater and his friends repeated this stunt at the Amsterdam fair. Leeghwater then even played a piece of music on a wind instrument underwater, ate some pears in half and wrote something on a sheet of paper. Between 700 and 800 spectators came to see the spectacle, including Dirck van Os, a wealthy merchant. Afterwards, his name was on everyone's lips.