Rope and Hook Ladders

The image shows two distinct climbing tools rendered in a technical engraving style against a background of Latin text. On the left, a ladder with two side rails and six horizontal cylindrical rungs, topped by a curved hook. On the right, a vertical support shaft surrounded by a sequence of six interconnected circular rope loops, terminating in a similar, though larger, hook at the top and loose ends at the bottom. The hatching suggests a metallic texture for the left ladder and a fibrous, corded texture for the rope ladder on the right.

This illustration originates from Robert Fludd's encyclopedic work 'Utriusque Cosmi Maioris scilicet et Minoris metaphysica, physica, atque technica Historia' (1617–1621), illustrating the technological and mechanical knowledge of the early 17th-century Rosicrucian context.