First edition of the French translation of this important treatise on the art of fortification by Nicolas Goldman (1611-1665), first published in Latin by the Elzevier press at Leiden in 1642 in 2 volumes.
The work was appropriately dedicated to Frederick Henry (1584-1647), Prince of Orange and Stadholder of the Dutch Republic, whose reputation as a military commander rested largely on his remarkable skill in siege warfare and his successful campaigns against some of the strongest fortified cities of his time.
Goldman was born in Breslau and came to Leiden in 1628 or 1629 to study law at the university. He spent the remainder of his life in Leiden as a private teacher of mathematics and geometry, where he devoted himself to applying scientific principles to architecture and military engineering. In his writings, Goldman sought to provide architects and engineers with precise mathematical foundations for the design of buildings and fortifications.
His most important architectural work was the Vollständige Anweisung zur Civil Bau-Kunst, published posthumously in Leipzig in 1696 by the architect Leonard Christian Sturm, who was strongly influenced by Goldman's theories. Together with his works on fortification, this publication established Goldman as an important figure in the development of early modern architectural and military theory.
The binding shows some wear, the boards are somewhat rubbed. The engraved title page is slightly damaged and strengthened with an extra leaf pasted to the back, some minor repairs in the margins, some occasional spotting and soiling. Otherwise in good condition. NDB 6, pp. 605-6; STCN 061286869; USTC 1011923; Willems 587.