MILITARY FORTIFICATIONS. SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY MANUSCRIPT OF "DE L'USAGE DU COMPAS DE PROPORTION", DATED 1681

written in brown ink, title within an elaborate cartouche illustrated with fruits and a face ("De l’usage du compas de proportion, 1681"), chapter-heads within smaller headpieces, trigonometrical diagrams, 11 designs for fortifications, comprising the chapters "Des partiees esgalles", "Des partiees du cercle", "De la Trigonometrie", "De lusage du Compas a la campagne", and "Maximes. De l'espace pour Combatre" 12mo (143 x 105mm), 42 pages, paginated 1-41, grapes watermark, neat remboitage in seventeenth-century black morocco gilt, contemporary inscription on final blank ("Lunedì 6 Mars 1681, 3 [après?] midi"), one wormhole throughout the text

Gabriel Peignot (1767-1849); Jacques Techener, Catalogue d'une nombreuse collection de livres anciens rares et curieux provenant de la bibliothèque de feu Gabriel Peignot, Paris, 8-30 March 1852, lot 935 (“De l'usage du compas de proportion, pet. in-8, mar. noir, fil. Ms. du xviie siècle sur pap. et orné de dessins à la plume”; bought from Cedric & Ithier de Fougerolle, Issy-les-Moulineaux, 1997

Tomash & Williams S78

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Despite using the same title, this treatise contains calculations and designs for fortifications not found in Denis Henrion's purely geometrical De l’usage du compas de proportion (1618, and many later editions), with which it seems to have little or no connection.