PALLISER, Sir William.

The use of earthen fortresses for the defence of London and as a preventive against invasion.

London, W. Mitchell & Co., 1871. 8vo (210 x 140 mm), pp. 43, [1, blank]; margins of title slightly stained; occasional spotting; with some pencil additions and corrections; stitched as issued. First edition. A treatise on defences written during the Franco-Prussian War by the engineer who invented the ‘Palliser projectile’, ‘Palliser converted guns’ and ‘Palliser bolts’. ‘During the siege of Paris he wrote several letters to The Times and some leading articles in it, which were afterwards embodied in a pamphlet of 1871 entitled The use of earthen fortresses for the defence of London, and as a preventive against invasion. In these, he proposed to surround London with a chain of unrevetted earthworks, about 5 miles apart, extending from Chatham to Reading, and to occupy the most important strategical points between this chain and the coast by similar works, or clusters of works’ (Oxford DNB).COPAC locates only three copies (Aberdeen, British Library, National Library of Scotland). OCLC locates two (Corporation of London, Leger Museum) and writes a ‘folding map inside back cover’, although there is no evidence that this copy was so issued.

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• libraire: Bernard Quaritch Ltd. (GREAT BRITAIN)