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Auction archive: Lot number 530

Geometrie pratique , in French, illustrated manuscript on paper [France, first half 17th century]

Estimate
£4,000 - £6,000
ca. US$5,097 - US$7,646
Price realised:
n. a.
Auction archive: Lot number 530

Geometrie pratique , in French, illustrated manuscript on paper [France, first half 17th century]

Estimate
£4,000 - £6,000
ca. US$5,097 - US$7,646
Price realised:
n. a.
Beschreibung:

Geometrie pratique , in French, illustrated manuscript on paper [France, first half 17th century] An eclectic and practical compendium of 17th-century French geometrical knowledge, designed for the budding surveyor or architect, full of mathematical formulae, calculations and problems and profusely illustrated with geometrical, astronomical and architectural diagrams and designs. 270 x 200mm. 133 leaves, complete, near-contemporary foliation 1-132 (ff.5 repeated) in ink followed here, mathematical diagrams and drawings on almost every leaf, the watermark matching Corpus Chartarum Italicarum 150018 (first four leaves loose, some spotting and foxing throughout, edges occasionally frayed and thumbed, some ink erosion and offsetting, a few wormholes, some of the pages cropped down, not affecting text or diagrams). Limp vellum with 3 leather sewing thongs at spine (yellow, cockled and stained, lower cover slightly shrunk). Provenance : The watermark is CCC 150018, which is datable to the 16th century. Content : The manuscript, apparently unique — and given its illustrative content certainly intended for practical use — is divided into three parts, with sections dedicated to geometry, astronomy, architecture, perspective, and fortification, each containing detailed examples of how to apply the theories set out in real-world scenarios. The first part (ff.1-26) contains geometric problems (how to measure distances and heights, how to map out inaccessible areas of land), all useful tools for a budding surveyor; the second (ff.27-73) deals with astronomy (the Ptolemaic geocentric system, the Copernican system, how to calculate the meridian convergence, the solstice and equinox dates, the eclipses of the sun and moon, the orbits of the planets and their distances from each other, an illustration of the Tychonic system, and finally examples of parallax and refraction); the third section (ff.73-132) is concerned with building and construction: we see pages on trigonometry, perspective, architecture, hydraulics, construction of thermometers, and how to navigate rivers and canals.

Auction archive: Lot number 530
Auction:
Datum:
10 Jul 2019
Auction house:
Christie's
London
Beschreibung:

Geometrie pratique , in French, illustrated manuscript on paper [France, first half 17th century] An eclectic and practical compendium of 17th-century French geometrical knowledge, designed for the budding surveyor or architect, full of mathematical formulae, calculations and problems and profusely illustrated with geometrical, astronomical and architectural diagrams and designs. 270 x 200mm. 133 leaves, complete, near-contemporary foliation 1-132 (ff.5 repeated) in ink followed here, mathematical diagrams and drawings on almost every leaf, the watermark matching Corpus Chartarum Italicarum 150018 (first four leaves loose, some spotting and foxing throughout, edges occasionally frayed and thumbed, some ink erosion and offsetting, a few wormholes, some of the pages cropped down, not affecting text or diagrams). Limp vellum with 3 leather sewing thongs at spine (yellow, cockled and stained, lower cover slightly shrunk). Provenance : The watermark is CCC 150018, which is datable to the 16th century. Content : The manuscript, apparently unique — and given its illustrative content certainly intended for practical use — is divided into three parts, with sections dedicated to geometry, astronomy, architecture, perspective, and fortification, each containing detailed examples of how to apply the theories set out in real-world scenarios. The first part (ff.1-26) contains geometric problems (how to measure distances and heights, how to map out inaccessible areas of land), all useful tools for a budding surveyor; the second (ff.27-73) deals with astronomy (the Ptolemaic geocentric system, the Copernican system, how to calculate the meridian convergence, the solstice and equinox dates, the eclipses of the sun and moon, the orbits of the planets and their distances from each other, an illustration of the Tychonic system, and finally examples of parallax and refraction); the third section (ff.73-132) is concerned with building and construction: we see pages on trigonometry, perspective, architecture, hydraulics, construction of thermometers, and how to navigate rivers and canals.

Auction archive: Lot number 530
Auction:
Datum:
10 Jul 2019
Auction house:
Christie's
London
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