LECLERC, Sébastien.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Pratique de la geometrie sur le terrain. Avec un nouvel ordre & un Methode peculiere. First edition of this richly engraved guide to geometry, attractively bound. It attests to early modern France's fascination with the mathematics of perspective, yet Leclerc's artistry goes beyond the merely practical. The density and elegance of his illustrations prefigure the rococo style and the miniature vignettes popular in the following century.The work proved popular at the French court and particularly among women. It was reprinted in 1682 and a pirated German edition published in 1699; it was imitated by Allain Manesson Mallet in his Geometrie Pratique 1702.Leclerc (1637-1714) studied under the celebrated engraver and fellow Lorrainer Jaques Callot (1592-1635). He worked chiefly in Paris, teaching perspective at the Académie Royale before being appointed graveur du Roi to Louis XIV. This copy is from the library of the bookseller and prolific collector Pierre Berès and was sold in his sixth sale on 17 December 2007.

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