LA MINERVE, Vaisseau Aerien Destine aux Decouvertes, et propose a toutes les Academies de l'Europe; par le Physicien Robertson, Ci-devant Professeur a l'Ecole centrale du departement de l'Ourte, de la Societe Galvanique,
by ROBERTSON, Estienne Gaspard.:
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Paris, chez Hocquet, 1820.. TITLE CONTINUED: de celle d'Emulation de Liege, et de celle pour l'Encouragement des Sciences et Arts de Hambourg. SECOND EDITION, revue et corrigee, 1820. French text, 8vo, approximately 190 x 125 mm, 7½ x 5 inches, woodcut title vignette, 4 woodcut illustrations printed on 3 pages, 1 large folding plate of the Minerve, plus at the end ONE EXTRA folding plate of a fantasy flying machine which seems to come from an Italian work, pages: 36, (4), bound in half calf over cloth sides, raised bands and gilt decoration to spine, contrasting gilt lettered labels, top edges gilt, marbled endpapers. Corners and hinges very slightly rubbed, small blemish to upper hinge, front inner paper hinge cracked, 2 tiny repairs to edge of front endpaper, occasional pale foxing and pale age-browning, the folding plate is faintly foxed at the edges, there is a small light stain at the top outer corner, a tiny piece missing from the lower corner and a very short closed edge tear at the inner edge (repaired on reverse), the unnumbered illustrated pages at the end are very faintly foxed at the edges, otherwise a very good copy. See Francis Terpac, Devices of Wonder, page 301-303. Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763-1837) was a famous Belgian stage magician pioneering projection techniques for phantasmagoria shows, at the same time pursuing an academic career as professor of physics at Liege, specialising in optics. He also had vast experience with balloons - he was Commandant des Aerostiers during the war, serving under General Jourdain in Belgium and Holland in 1803/4, providing valuable observations on the enemy troops and movements from tethered and untethered balloon observing stations; he is also regarded by some as the inventor of the parachute. There was nothing about the balloon described in this pamphlet that would have worked, and Robertson knew it, intending his work to be more of caricature of existing attempts in flight than as a science fiction creation. The balloon was to have been one of the biggest ever designed with a 150 foot diameter for a load of 161,000 lbs including 60 scientists, plus some ladies who have their own quarters, and it was to be fitted out with a library, church, exercise area, chemistry laboratory, music room, food and wine storage, kitchen, the only place where a fire is allowed, etc. It is also provided with a small ship underneath for sea landings. The first edition which is extremely scarce was first published in Vienne, France in 1804. This is mentioned on the title page and see Tissandier, Bibliographie Aeronautique page 33. MORE IMAGES ATTACHED TO THIS LISTING, ALL ZOOMABLE. FURTHER IMAGES ON REQUEST. POSTAGE AT COST.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Roger Middleton (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 47545
- Title
- LA MINERVE, Vaisseau Aerien Destine aux Decouvertes, et propose a toutes les Academies de l'Europe; par le Physicien Robertson, Ci-devant Professeur a l'Ecole centrale du departement de l'Ourte, de la Societe Galvanique,
- Author
- ROBERTSON, Estienne Gaspard.:
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Place of Publication
- Paris, chez Hocquet, 1820.
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Keywords
- HOT AIR BALLOONS AEROSTATS MONTGOLFIERES FANTASY SATIRES BALLOONING ARIEL AEROSTATION FLIGHT AERONAUTIQUE AERONAUTICS LIVRE FRANCAIS SUR LE VOL BELGIAN MAGICIAN DIRIGIBLES
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Roger Middleton
About the Seller
Roger Middleton
About Roger Middleton
Glossary
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- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Foxed
- Foxing is the age related browning, or brown-yellowish spots, that can occur to book paper over time. When this aging process...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Vignette
- A decorative design or illustration placed at the beginning or end of a ...
- Hinge
- The portion of the book closest to the spine that allows the book to be opened and closed.
- Cracked
- In reference to a hinge or a book's binding, means that the glue which holds the opposing leaves has allowed them to separate,...
- Raised Band(s)
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- Plate
- Full page illustration or photograph. Plates are printed separately from the text of the book, and bound in at production. I.e.,...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Calf
- Calf or calf hide is a common form of leather binding. Calf binding is naturally a light brown but there are ways to treat the...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...