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an old book with a drawing of a spinning machine in itan old book with a drawing of a man working on a wheelan old book with a drawing of a man standing on a ladderan old book with a brown cover sitting on a white surfacean old book with a picture of a group of people on itan old book with a drawing of a man sitting at a tablea drawing of a man working on a machine in a rooman old book with a drawing of a woman sitting in front of a stovean old drawing of a horse drawn carriage with a man on itan old book with a drawing of a man working on a machine
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656 - BESSON (Jacques). *Theatrum Instrumentorum et Machinarum* [.…
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Estimate €2,000 - €3,000
Sale commission
Description
BESSON (Jacques). *Theatrum Instrumentorum et Machinarum* [...] *Theatre of Mathematical and Mechanical Instruments* [...] Lyon, Barthélemy Vincent, 1578. Folio volume comprising [8] pp. (title page, privilege, preface, table of inventions) (out of 22 or 24?) and 60 engraved plates depicting various inventions: measuring instruments, compasses, a tower, a mill, machines for loading, hoisting or hauling ships… Marbled sheepskin, ribbed spine, gilt title (modern binding). Leaves trimmed to short margins, measuring approx. 33 x 22 cm (but with no loss of text), entirely re-mounted on laid paper measuring 47 x 32 cm. Title page browned. Small worm-eaten area in the upper margin. Foxing and soiling on the final plates (very pronounced on the very last one). Alongside Agostino Ramelli’s famous *Diverse et artificiose machine*, the *Théâtre des instruments mathématiques et mécaniques* ranks among the great technical works of the Renaissance. A mathematician, engineer and inventor, Jacques Besson (c. 1534–1573), appointed Master of Machines to Charles IX, presents sixty designs for hydraulic, military and industrial machines in this volume. Some were actually feasible, whilst others were more in the realm of experimentation or mechanical utopia, but taken as a whole, the work contributed significantly to the dissemination of technical knowledge across Europe. The work’s success is evidenced by its numerous reprints: nine editions in five languages over a period of some thirty years. The first edition appeared around 1571, probably in Orléans, published by Prévost. Now extremely rare, only around ten copies of this first printing are known to exist today. In 1578, three editions were published under the same address, though the order in which they were printed cannot be determined with certainty. Although bearing the address of Barthélemy Vincent, the present edition was printed in Geneva by Jean de Laon, on the initiative of Claude Juge and François Beraud, a friend of Besson and the author of the explanatory texts intended to accompany the plates (which are missing here). In this 1578 edition (as indicated by the date in Arabic numerals on the title page), the title is in Latin and French, the privilege (dated 27 June 1569 in Orléans, granted to the author and signed by Brullart) is in French, the preface is in Latin and French, and the 4-page index is in French. The titles of the plates are in Latin. The edition from the same year, published at the same address but with the date given in Roman numerals, comprises 11 or 12 folios, depending on the copy. The work is illustrated with sixty engraved plates depicting pumps, machine tools, war machines, fortifications, ships, bridges and other mechanical devices. Almost all are by ANDROUET DU CERCEAU du Cerceau; only plates 17, 35, 39 and 51 were engraved by René BOYVIN, whose monogram they bear. Thanks to the quality of its illustrations and the originality of its content, this book remains one of the masterpieces of Renaissance technical literature.
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About the sale MONTIGNAC – 31st BOOK SALE – Day 2 of 4 – Nos. 550 to 1084
Auction location
Auction time 08/20/2026 at 11:00 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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