Descripción
4to (255 x 198 mm). [26], 152, [8] pp., including half-title, title with woodcut printer's device, 1 engraved vignette, and 93 engraved folding plates. Contemporary calf, rebound, spine rebacked and titled in gilt, red-dyed edges (little wear to extremities). Text and plates quite crisp and clean with only very minor occasional spotting. A fine copy. ---- Wheeler Gift 369; Brunet VI, 8173; Honeyman 1560. - THIRD EDITION, ENLARGED. This interesting work shows the specimens of one of the most famous curiosity cabinets of the seventeenth century. The first edition was printed in Lyon in 1719 followed by an enlarged edition in 1733, reissued in 1751. This edition includes 93 noteworthy engraved plates, largely by Daudet, and one by Duflos. It includes the additional plates 31a, 52a, 56a, 72a, 84a-d; the plates 39, 48, and 76 are skipped as in the first edition, and the remaining plates are numbered 1 to 88. The grand nephew of Jean Grolier, the greatest bibliophile of the French Renaissance, the Lyonnais Nicolas Grollier de Servieres (1596-1689) was one of the most remarkable curious of the Grand Siecle. Not satisfied with collecting, he himself, like Besson and Ramelli, carried out very learned models and mechanical machines, as well as ivory tower pieces of infinite complexity, clocks and other hydraulic devices. The reputation of his cabinet extended beyond the frontiers of the kingdom, and the fact of having himself invented and executed the pieces adorned by his collection gave a particular attraction to the whole. The tower pieces were placed in cupboards, the doors of which were opened at the same time by a small ivory ankle placed on a table far removed from them; this singular staging contributed to the charm of the collection. During a stay at Lyons, King Louis XIV visited the cabinet two days in succession. Finally, one of the sons of Grollier de Servieres, the great prior of the Savigny Abbey, enriched his father's cabinet with pieces of his invention. The first part contains lathe work, the second art and hourglass, the third model of machines. The work includes descriptions and illustrations of mechanical toys, clocks, hydtaulic devices, lifting apparatus, pontoon bridges, paddle boats, siege equipment, lamps, or a reading-desk. - Visit our website for additional images and information. N° de ref. del artículo 002739
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