ALDE
166
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CARBURI (Marin). A monument erected to the glory of Peter th…
See original version (French)
166
-
CARBURI (Marin). A monument erected to the glory of Peter th…
See original version (French)
Estimate €200 - €300
Voluntary lot
Description
CARBURI (Marin). A monument erected to the glory of Peter the Great, or an account of the works and mechanical means employed to transport to St Petersburg a boulder weighing three million, intended to serve as the base for the equestrian statue of that emperor. Paris, Nyon aîné & Stoupe, 1777. Folio, marbled mauve Bradel-style cardboard binding, untrimmed (modern binding). First edition of this work, famous in the history of technology.
It is illustrated with 11 (out of 12) fine plates, almost all of which are double-page or fold-out, engraved by R. d’Elvaux and Sellier after drawings by L.-N. van Blarenbergh and Fossier.
The engineer Marin Carburi, from Kefalonia, describes in this work how an enormous boulder was transported from one of the islands in the Gulf of Finland to St Petersburg; this boulder was to serve as the plinth for the monumental statue of Peter I commissioned by Catherine II from Falconet, known as the Bronze Horseman. This virtually impossible transport operation provided the first opportunity to use ball-bearing rollers (rather than cylindrical ones) for moving very heavy loads.
A copy with full margins (455 x 305 mm) in a modern binding. Handwritten correction from the period on p. 3.
Plate VIII is missing, replaced by a facsimile. Scattered foxing, a few plates with foxing.
BAL, no. 551 – Berlin Cat., no. 1794.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale
Antique books – Alchemy & the occult sciences
Auction location
Auction time
11/04/2026 at 2:00 PM
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