Modern Fortification: Or, Elements of Military Architecture. MOORE (Sir Jonas).

THE DUKE OF BEAUFORT'S COPY

Practised and Designed by the Latest and most Experienced Ingeneers of this last Age, Italian, French, Dutch, and English. And the manner of Defending and Besieging Forts and Places. With the use of a Joynt-Ruler or Sector, for the speedy Description of any Fortification. By Sir Jonas Moore, Master Surveyor of His Majesties Ordnance.

Engraved frontispiece and nine folding plates and tables in the text.

First Edition. 8vo. [185 x 115 x 30 mm]. [8]ff, 127 pp. Bound in near contemporary calf, the covers tooled in blind with a double fillet border and a panel of a double fillet and zig-zag roll with a floral tool in the outer corners. The spine divided into five panels with raised bands, lettered in the second on a red goatskin label, the others with gilt floral tools, the edges of the boards tooled with the zig-zag roll in gilt, plain endleaves, red sprinkled edges. (Worn, with patches of insect activity on the covers). In later red cloth chemise and and quarter red goatskin slipcase with cloth sides and spine lettered in gilt.

London: printed by W. Godbid, for Nathaniel Brooke, at the Angel in Cornhill,

Wing M.2576. ESTC locates eight copies in the UK and five in North America.

The frontispiece is included in the pagination and the plates are numbered 1-10, with one having two numbers.

Bound with:

MORETTI (Tomaso). A General Treatise of Artillery: Or, Great Ordnance Writ in Italian by Tomaso Moretii of Brescia Ingenier first to the Emperour, and now to the most Serene Republick of Venice. Translated into English, with Notes thereupon, and some Additions out of French for Sea-Gunners. By Sir Jonas Moore, Kt. With an Appendix of Artificial Fire-works for War and Delight, by Sir Abraham Dager Kt. Ingenier. Illustrated with divers Cuts.

Woodcut frontispiece, seven folding plates, and four pages of diagrams with descriptive text.

Second Edition. 8vo. [5]ff, 124pp.

London: printed by A. G. and J. P. for Obadiah Blagrave at the Bear in St. Paul's-Church-Yard, 1683

Wing M.2726. ESTC locates ten copies in the the UK and six in North America.

A reissue of the 1673 edition of Moore's translation of Moretti's Trattato dell'Artiglieria, which is known only from a single copy at the Huntington. This second edition has a cancel title-page, an added quire "I" and leaves A2-3 cancelled with four pages of the "Definition of Geometry" substituted. Dager's "Appendix" appears here for the first time, and it also includes Georges Fournier's "Advice for Ship-gunners". Bound without the two leaves of advertisements at the end, as is the case in most copies, including the Folger and Macclesfield.

The Macclesfield copy, which sold at Sotheby's as lot 3672 on 30/10/2007, was catalogued as lacking two preliminary leaves, which is incorrect, as these were cancelled in this second edition, with the new text substituted. Consequently this copy was also described as imperfect when sold at Swann Galleries in 2017.

Very good clean copies of both works. Inscribed in ink on the front flyleaf "H. Slingsby Badminton Jan. ye 27 1693". And beneath "bought by me 1695 Worcester". With the bookplate of "The Most Noble Henry Duke of Beaufort 1705" and two sets of Badminton House shelf-marks. Sir Henry Slingsby (c.1621-c.1688) was Master of the Mint and had two sons, Anthony and Henry, the latter presumably being the owner of this volume. Charles Somerset (1660-1698) was the eldest surviving son of Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort, and was styled as Marquess of Worcester from 1682. On his death the title passed to his son Henry Somerset (1684-1714) who succeeded his grandfather as 2nd Duke of Beaufort and inherited Badminton in 1700. The 9th Duke had a clear-out of books in about 1920 and this volume made its way to then USA. The chemise has the bookplate of Raymond L. J. Riling and label of "The Military Library of Richard Allen Johnson U.S.M.A. 1946".

In 1997 I sold a copy of Moretti's 1683 edition of A General Treatise of Artillery that also came from Badminton with a later 18th century bookplate. It lacked the frontispiece and two leaves of advertisements and A4 and 5 were bound before the "Definition of Geometry".

Sir Jonas Moore (1617-1679), the mathematician, had a practical interest in projectiles and defences. He was involved in the draining of the Fens (and thereby keeping the sea out of Norfolk), and supplied Cromwell with a model of a citadel "to bridle the city of London". In 1663 he visited Tangiers to advise on the fortifications, and on his return was appointed surveyor-general of the ordnance. He was an acquaintance of Pepys, who was particularly impressed by his map of Tangier, which was engraved by Hollar in 1664. On his death in 1679 he was buried at the Tower of London, with a 62 gun salute.

Stock no. ebc8052