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

Several small woodcuts in the text. 12 p.l., 128 pp. 8vo, early 20th-cent. half-calf & marbled boards, spine gilt. Stockholm: L. Salvius, 1761.

First edition and very rare. Polhem (1661-1751), the father of Swedish technology, was a pioneer in the mass production of replaceable machine parts, which he made with great precision and accuracy. He made other important contributions to applied mechanics, mining engineering, the construction of canals and docks, building materials and the construction of buildings, and the manufacturing of textiles. Polhem also established a mechanical laboratory for the development and construction of machines, technical instruments, astronomical clocks, etc.

This title of this posthumously published work, edited by his son Gabriel, can be translated as “Patriotic Testament, or Information on Iron, Steel, Brass, Tin and Lead for Those who want to start Industries in these Fields. Including a list of all his Mechanical Inventions,” is the best account by Polhem of his numerous achievements and provides his “alphabet” of machines which demonstrated the basic elements of mechanics. More