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several old papers are stacked on top of each other on a white surfacean old book with a lot of writing on itfour pages of old paper with writing on them on a white surfacea piece of paper that has a drawing of a boat on ittwo pieces of paper with drawings on them on a white surfacean old book with a drawing of a clock tower on top of itan old map of a bridge on a piece of paperan old drawing of a plan of a windmill on a piece of papera old book with a lot of writing on it
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302 - [Science – Civil Engineering]
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Estimate €800 - €1,200
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Description
[Science – Civil Engineering] Papers of a student at the École des Ponts-et-Chaussées during the Revolution A collection of manuscripts, drawings and miscellaneous documents Born in Paris in 1778, Alexandre Nicolas Duvergier enrolled in 1794 at the newly established École Centrale des Travaux Publics (later to become the École Polytechnique), and was subsequently admitted in 1796 to the École des Ponts et Chaussées as an engineering student. Appointed an Ordinary Engineer of the École des Ponts-et-Chaussées in 1800, he ended his career as Chief Engineer, working in particular on transport infrastructure and hydraulic engineering projects. Handwritten copies of 20 dissertations, lectures and exercises delivered at the École des Ponts et Chaussées by the teaching engineers Antoine de Chézy (1718–1798), Pierre Marie Jérôme Trésaguet (1716–1796) and Emiland Gauthey (1732–1806), including: Treatise on the locks of navigable canals by Mr Gauthey, delivered in Dijon on 18 June 1780, with a sheet of sketches Problem: determining the most advantageous angle to give to the camber of a lock, by Mr de Chézy Method for measuring the volumes of solids commonly found in embankments, by Mr de Chézy, with plates of sketches Details of pricing for embankment works Theory of abutment thickness Methods for determining the volume of water supplied by a river, stream or any spring Treatise on the construction and maintenance of roads built in lieu of corvée labour in the Limoges Generality since 1764, by Mr Trésaguet, with plates of sketches Cost estimate for an arch with a span of 6 feet and a length of 60 feet, with a plate of sketches Analysis of various types of limestone, by Mr Berthier, engineer in the Royal Corps of Mines Port of Le Havre: a treatise on the type of bridge that should be adopted to span the lock intended to connect the two basins Treatise on the best methods for constructing locks, whether for sea bridges or for navigable canals, ensuring they are built solidly in all their parts and are easy to operate, a subject proposed by the Royal Academy of Sciences for the year 1790 On levelling, with a plate of sketches Treatise on piles and on pilings Treatise on the landslides that sometimes occur in mountainous areas and other elevated terrain, and on the means of preventing such landslides... Treatise on the thickness required for retaining walls to withstand earth pressure, by Mr Gauthey Road design: guidelines Alphabetical glossary of civil engineering, a manuscript compiled by the student to organise technical vocabulary and construction theory. The presence of cross-references and the care taken with each definition, illustrated by a sketch, show that Alexandre Duvergier had compiled a personal dictionary summarising the technical vocabulary, charts and standard proportions that needed to be mastered for the practical examinations. The care taken with the sections, elevations and the precision of the pen-and-ink lines bears witness to the graphic rigour instilled by the reorganisation of engineering schools during the Revolution (a legacy of Gaspard Monge and Jean-Rodolphe Perronet). Indicative table of the main proportions and dimensions used in structures and buildings, handwritten table 12 sheets of drawings, including 5 sheets relating to a development study for the port of Le Havre (section of a bascule bridge, a swing bridge operated by a flat-bottomed boat, a design for a swing bridge, a design for a travelling crane); plates of sketches of lifting machinery, architectural elements, etc. Handwritten copies and printed versions of regulatory texts Bridges and Roads, Ordinance of Our Lords the Presidents-Treasurers of France and Generals of Finance concerning the maintenance of public roads, 19 June 1772 Navigation, decree of the King’s Council of State laying down general regulations for navigation on the Loire and its tributaries, 29 July 1783 Carriage regulations, report by a commission, 9 August 1814
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About the sale ARCHIVES, BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
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Auction time 10/08/2026 at 2:00 PM
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