Rare first and only edition of a treatise on fortification by the Dutch engineer Cornelis Redelykheid (1728-1787). It centres on methods to improve the masonry and composition of strongholds against hostile artillery and mines, and on fortifying vaults against the most powerful bombs. The large engraved plates with measured drawings include a large fortification plan and several cross-sections, profiles and elevations, many showing vaults. Although the imprint is undated, the author's dedication is dated from Amsterdam, 1759. Cornelis Redelykheid (1728-post 1787), son of a Rotterdam mason, worked in his father's shop as a young man. He became a capable hydraulic, mechanical and fortification engineer, working for the province of Holland from 1761. The present book seems not to have been a normal commercial production but a private publication of the author, probably printed in a small number of copies.
With owner's signature. With minor water stains in an occasional leaf and the foot of one leaf somewhat dirty and tattered, but still in very good condition and with generous margins. A rare and unusually luxurious work on fortification. Jordan 3069 (2 copies); Sloos, Warfare 8135; STCN (6 copies).