$1,000
Estimate: $1,000 - $1,500
The Collection of Victor Niederhoffer part II
Auction: September 19, 2019 11:00:00 AM EDT
London: I. & J. Taylor at the Architectural Library, 1796. First edition. 4to. Sheet size 268 x 218mm, (i)-xvi, (1)-144 pp. +17 plates. Contemporary tree calf with marbled endpapers and edges; rebacked in later calf, with original contemporary red morocco spine label; blanks and title page with edges lightly soiled, title also with small tears to edges, a few gatherings toned but generally clean; illustrated plates with some foxing; with early ink ownership on verso of front free end paper and the Armorial book-plate of James Lorimer Graham(, Jr.) on front paste-down; mid 19th-century steel engraved portrait of Robert Fulton mounted to front blank. Housed in custom brown morocco, gilt, pull-off case. Sabin 26201; Church 1269; Howe's F 418(aa); ESTC T101123 During his English sojourn, Fulton was caught up in the enthusiasm of "Canal Mania." He sent a few copies of this work to the President of the United States and other officials, each accompanied by a letter emphasizing the advantages to be derived from the use of canal navigation. The Church Catalogue asserts that "Few of the admirers of Fulton are aware he wrote such a work." Robert Fulton (1765-1815), American engineer and inventor, widely credited with developing a commercially successful steamboat (1807); on a commission for Napoleon Bonaparte, produced the first practical submarine. James Lorimer Graham, Jr. (1835-1876), American book collector, U.S. counsel-general for Italy.