BOYER, Abel.

The draughts of the most remarkable fortified towns of Europe, in 44 copper plates. With a geographical description of the said places. And the history of the sieges they have sustain'd, and the revolutions they have undergon, for above these two hundred years last. To which is prefix'd an introduction to military architecture, or fortification. Containing the origin and progress of that noble art; with the explanation of all the terms belonging to the same. A work very useful to all gentlemen, and officers in the army.

London, printed for Isaac Cleave, 1701. 4to (225 x 165 mm), pp. [iv], 29, [1, blank], with 44 engravings (one folding); contemporary mottled calf; rebacked; a good copy. First edition. A collection of engraved plans, mostly of French or Dutch origin, with accompanying descriptions and brief military histories, depicting the leading fortified towns of Europe at the beginning of the eighteenth-century and the War of the Spanish Succession. The majority of these, including Namur, Maastricht, Saint Malo, and Cambrai, had either been re-fortified or besieged by Marshal Vauban, Louis XIV’s famous master of siegecraft at the end of the preceding century. An introductory chapter on the art of fortification, which describes the known types of military architecture and the best besieging and blockading methods, also follows the principles set by Vauban. Of the books on ‘military technology, no works had greater influence or enjoyed greater prestige than those of Sebastien Le Preste de Vauban . . . . His authority in the eighteenth century was immense, nor had it appreciably dimmed after the time of Napoleon’ (Guerlac, ‘Vauban: the impact of science on war’ in Paret, ed., The makers of modern strategy pp. 72–3).Boyer, a French Huguenot who fled France following the edict of Nantes and settled in England, was a well-known author and political commentator. He published a number of works on military matters, an interest which probably developed from his early education in mathematics and fortification. It is possible he also served briefly in the army of the Dutch Republic following his exile from France. His most celebrated work was the Royal dictionary, which was re-published in numerous editions during his lifetime. He translated a number of books from the French and also ran his own periodical, the Political state of Great Britain, which ‘provided a register of monthly occurrences across Britain, America, and Europe, abstracted pamphlets and books, offered observations on trade and public finance, and reported regularly on current parliamentary debates’ (Oxford DNB).Shirley, Atlases I p. 294.

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• ordernr.: T2653

• bookseller: Bernard Quaritch Ltd. (GREAT BRITAIN)