99 pp. 8vo, attractive antique calf-backed paste-paper boards, spine gilt, red morocco lettering-piece on spine. Paris: Joullain, 1778.

The uncommon sale catalogue, fully priced throughout, of a noteworthy collection, devoted primarily to Italian art and sculpture. Bourlat de Montredon (?-1777), was an influential amateur and collector who resided in Constantinople for forty years.

The catalogue thoroughly describes 695 lots, many of which are composed of numerous items. Lots 579-671 are Bourlat de Montredon’s impressive group of books of prints, mostly focused on the architecture and decorative arts of Italy, including a number of works by Piranesi. The descriptions offer occasional notes on... More about Catalogue d’une belle Collection de Tableaux, Dessins, Estampes, Sculptures en Terre cuite...

Lithograph frontis. port. of the collector. 2 p.l., 14, [2], 166 pp. 8vo, attractive antique half-calf paste-paper boards, red morocco lettering-piece on spine, spine gilt. Paris: J.S. Merlin, 1824.

The uncommon sale catalogue of Hurtault (1765-1824), Architecte du roi, member of the Institut, and inspector general of public works, who conducted significant restorations of the Tuileries and Fontainebleau. He was especially interested in English architecture — demonstrated by the numerous British books in his collection — and designed several gardens in the English style, including one at Fontainebleau.

This was one of the finest professional libraries of architecture of the early 19th century and its... More about Catalogue des Livres composant la Bibliothèque de feu… dont la Vente aura lieu le mercredi 12...

40 pp. 8vo, late 19th-century calf-backed marbled boards, spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece. Paris: J.B. Coignard, 1742.

An extremely rare catalogue of “one of the most important and renowned collections of antiquities assembled in the 18th century.”–Astrid Dostert, “La description historique des antiques du cardinal de Polignac par Moreau de Mautour…”, Journal des savants, 2001, Vol. I, pp. 93-152–(an extremely informative article).

Cardinal Polignac (1661-1742), an influential diplomat and art connoisseur, played an important role in the negotiation of the Treaty of Utrecht as well as maintaining close ties between France and the Vatican. Pope Alexander VIII is believed... More about Etat et Description des Statues tant colossales que de grandeur naturelle, & de demie nature,...

1 p.l., 288 pp. Large 8vo, orig. printed wrappers bound-in cont. dark green half-morocco, cloth sides, spine gilt, t.e.g. London: 1874.

A handsome copy, ruled in red with prices in a contemporary hand. Tite was a noted architect whose principal work was the remodeling of the Royal Stock Exchange (1844). He was a strenuous opponent of the Neo-Gothic style as practiced by Sir George Gilbert Scott (see D.N.B.). “Among the contemporaries of Henry Huth was a notable bibliophile, the enthusiastic architect Sir William Tite (1798-1873), whose fine and valuable library brought nearly 20,000 pounds, a large sum for the early... More about Catalogue of the extensive, important and valuable Collection of Books, Manuscripts, Autograph...

Engraved allegorical frontis. 1 p.l., vi, 93 pp. 8vo, attractive antique calf-backed marbled boards, spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. N.p.: 1751.

First edition. Bachaumont (1690-1771) was an influential noble who grew up at the court of Versailles during the height of its significance as the political and cultural nucleus of France. He frequented the salons of Paris and was entangled in several controversies, one in particular regarding a journal filled with gossip ascertained at the salon of Madame Doublet de Persan, for which he may have been partially responsible. By the end of his life, he was known... More about Essai sur la Peinture, la Sculpture et l’Architecture

Four hand-colored folding engraved maps & one fine engraving. 11 pp. 4to, cont. crushed green morocco, sides bordered in gilt, spine gilt. [Strasbourg: F.G. Levrault, 1804].

First edition of this rare and handsomely illustrated work. In order to celebrate Napoleon’s coronation in 1804, the city of Strasbourg initiated a series of a civil engineering and public works projects. The explanatory text details the planned bridge over the Rhine connecting Strasbourg with Kehl, an orangerie dedicated to Empress Josephine, a canal to protect against flooding and to circumvent a turbulent part of the Rhine, a performance hall, and the extension of a central... More about Notice sur les Solennités célébrées à Strasbourg, pour le Département du Bas-Rhin, le Jour...

Ten folding engraved plates. viii, 368 pp. Large 4to, orig. paste-paper wrappers (a bit frayed), printed paper label on spine, uncut. Paris: Bachelier, 1821.

First collected edition and quite scarce on the market. “Coulomb’s collected memoirs on mechanics. The first of these deals with simple machines and won the Academy prize of 1779. The second is a study of friction at pivots, and the third deals with torsion and the elasticity of metal wire. In the fourth memoir Coulomb discusses man’s ability to perform work, quoting Daniel Bernoulli and d’Alembert. The fifth memoir is devoted to windmills and the force of their... More about Théorie des Machines simples, en ayant Égard au frottement de leurs parties et a la Roideur des...

83 engraved plates. xxvii, 100 pp.; 175 pp.; 61, [2] pp. Three parts in one vol. Large 4to, cont. sheep-backed marbled boards (headcap & one corner a little worn), flat spine gilt, red leather lettering piece on spine. [Paris]: l’Auteur, la Veuve Hérissant, & T. Barrois, 1782.

Final and best edition of one of the standard introductory textbooks of architecture of the time; it went through four earlier editions (with different titles) in 1762, 1766, 1768, and 1773. Dupuis (1733-92), was a practicing architect who wrote several other works on various aspects of the subject. He served as architect to the Elector of Cologne for many years.

Very nice copy. More about Traité d'Architecture, comprenant les Cinq Ordres des Anciens, établis dans une juste...

Lithographed frontis., 45 black & white plates, and two printed tables. 420, ii pp. Large 4to, orig. cloth (extremities with very minor wear, some foxing due to the quality of the paper). New York: D. Appleton, 1852.

“Third edition” of the first great American book on naval architecture (1st ed.: 1849). Griffiths (1809-82), was one of the earliest outstanding naval architects in America and, during the early 1850s, his steamships were the fastest and finest in the world.

“Through his writings Griffiths did more than any one else to put shipbuilding in America on a scientific basis, in place of the ‘rule of thumb’ methods... More about Treatise on Marine and Naval Architecture, or, Theory and Practice blended in Ship Building

Finely engraved added allegorical title-page & added engraved port. of the author, 158 engraved plates (numbered 1-54; 1-42; 1-25; 1-15; 1-17; 1-5), five engraved headpieces & four tailpieces in the text, and several finely engraved initials. 8 p.l., 127, [14] pp., 1 leaf of errata. Folio, cont. red morocco, gilt arms of Nicolas-Joseph Foucault on covers, panelled in gilt, spine gilt, a.e.g. Rome: J.J. Komarek, 1690.

First edition, and a splendid copy in handsome contemporary red morocco with the arms of Nicolas Joseph Foucault, of a “sumptuous work describing and depicting upon the excellent engraved plates a large variety of ancient Roman objects…”–Sinkankas, Gemology... More about Romanum Museum, sive, Thesaurus eruditae Antiquitatis: in quo Gemmae, Idola, Insignia...

Engraved frontis., an engraved head-piece at beginning of the dedication, & 82 full-page engravings in the text. 4 p.l. (incl. frontis.), 41, 139, [8] pp. 12mo, 18th-cent. green morocco, sides panelled in gilt, flat spine gilt, a.e.g. Paris: T. Jolly, 1669 (colophon dated 1668).

First edition, and a lovely copy, of this uncommon and influential book, a popular manual for artists and architects. This is “one of the most attractive little mathematical works ever published.”–Hofer, Baroque Book Illustration, pp. 14 & 32. The illustrations in this book show beautiful small landscapes in the lower portion of the image, while the upper portion shows geometrical diagrams;... More about Pratique de la Geometrie sur le Papier et sur le Terrain. Avec un nouvel Ordre & une Methode...

2 p.l., iv, 108 pp. Small 8vo (152 x 100 mm.), cont. pink paste-paper boards (spine sunned), green morocco lettering-piece on spine. Paris: L’Imprimerie des Sciences et Arts, 1796/97 [An 5].

First edition of this scarce exhibition catalogue, which records the items displayed for the first drawings exhibition held at the Musée central des Arts (now the Louvre). The exhibited items were nearly all drawn from the deposed Louis XVI’s collection and, in many cases, shown to the public for the first time, a detail that the Avertissement underscores.

“Though a handful of drawings had been displayed at the Luxembourg…the exhibition at the Musée central was the first to be devoted exclusively to them…From the three schools 415 drawings were chosen from a collection of more than 11,000…The intent of the exhibition was primarily didactic (…aspiring artists were given privileged access), and the administration even composed an exercise book for use in the gallery. Following the example of the recent Salon exhibition and in anticipation of the Grand Gallery, the drawings were arranged sequentially in schools and vertically according to size.”–A. McClellan, Inventing the Louvre: Art, Politics, and the Origins of the Modern Museum in Eighteenth-Century Paris (1994), pp. 127-28. More about Notice des Dessins originaux, Cartons, Gouaches, Pastels, Emaux et Miniatures, du Musée central...