1 / 5
an old book with a drawing of a hot air balloonan open book with a picture of a city in the backgroundan open book with a picture of a hot air balloon in the skyan old book sitting on top of a table next to a white wallan open book with a drawing of a hot air balloon in the middle
Premium Maître Paul PASTAUD

54 - FAUJAS DE SAINT-FOND (Barthélémy). A description of the expe…
See original version (French)

Estimate €1,800 - €2,000
Sale commission
Description
FAUJAS DE SAINT-FOND (Barthélémy). A description of the experiments carried out on the Montgolfier brothers’ aerostatic machine, and of those to which this discovery gave rise. Followed by research into the altitude reached by the Champ-de-Mars balloon, the course it followed, ... a Treatise on flammable gas and on the gas used by Messrs de Montgolfier, on the art of constructing aerostatic machines, cutting them, inflating them, ... a Letter on the means of steering these machines and on the various uses to which they may be put [followed by] First continuation of the description of the aerostatic experiments of Messrs de Montgolfier. Paris, published by Cuchet, 1784. 2 vols. in-8, XL-302-[2] pp., 9 plates, 1 folded table, and [2]-366-[1] pp., 5 plates, fawn calfskin, plain decorated spine, red edges (contemporary binding). Minor repairs to the clasps. Very slight worm damage in the margins of a few leaves in volume 2, some foxing. Volume 1 is marked as a second edition; volume 2 is a first edition. Volume 1 of the second edition is supplemented by an Addendum (pages 300–302), which is the official report drawn up at the Château de la Muette following the trial of M. de Montgolfier’s aerostatic machine. This experiment took place on 21 November 1783. The first volume of this work had already been printed, which explains this new printing; in reality, it is much rarer as it was certainly printed in only a small number of copies. “The second part is quite rarely found” (Cohen, 372). Of the 14 plates, four (including the two frontispieces) are finely engraved by Nicolas Delaunay after drawings by the Chevalier de Lorimier. They depict ascents of the aerostatic machine, including the one carried out at Versailles on 19 September 1783, in the presence of the court and the royal family. In Volume I, plate V serves as the frontispiece. In Volume II, the pagination jumps from 62 to 67, with no pages missing. (Tissandier, 21. In French in the text, 175.) A fine copy from the Paul Couturier Library in Royas (two bookplates).
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale MONTIGNAC – 31st BOOK SALE – Day 1 of 4 – Nos. 1 to 549
Auction location
Auction time 08/19/2026 at 11:00 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like