L'Art de tourner, ou de faire en perfection toutes sortes d'ouvrages au tour (The Art of Turning, or of Making Perfectly All Sorts of Works on the Lathe)
Paris: P. Aubouin; P. Ribou; C. Jombert, 1706. Second edition. Contemporary calf. Folio (37.7 by 24.2 cm). [28], 187 pp. Engraved half-tile; engraved headpieces, initials, head- and tailpieces; 71 full-page engraved plates (1 folding). Contemporary calf (with mild erosion/rubbing), spine lettered and tooled in gilt. Light to moderate dampstain at top margin extending several inches down the gutter. Mild worm-tracing at fore-margin last fifty leaves (only occasionally affecting plates), else a good, amply-margined copy, complete with all plates noted in the printer's list.
Second edition of this highly influencial and copiously illustrated work on the craft of ornamental wood turning, first published at Lyons in 1701. The son of a carpenter and woodturner, Charles Plumier (1646-1701) entered the monstery of the Minims at Marseilles, where he excelled in the study of the sciences, particularly mathematics and physics, under the tutelage of father Emmanuel Maignan, who was himself a master turner. Along with documenting the history of lathes from ancient times to the his own era, Plumier provides detailed illustrations of their various types and functions, along with additional tools and paraphernalia. L'Art de Tourner quickly became a standard reference for wood turning. Plumier is perhpas even better known for his botanical explorations (1689-1695) in the West Indies as the royal botanist for king Louis XIV of France; these researches are documented in his massive Nova Plantarum Americanarum Genera (1703-1704).
A note on the plates: The placement of the 71 plates is noted on the leaf facing the opening of the main text; with three exceptions, plate content is not described. While the list notes plate numbers in Roman (I-LXIX; LXXIII; and LXXXII), in fact 66 of the plates are numbered in Arabic, three are unnumbered (nos. 66, 68, 69), and two employ other symbols (no. 56 - diamond; no. 67 - star). The placement list indicates that four plates (IX, XLII, LXXIII, and LXXXII) may each be inserted at two locations, though they make only one appearance in this copy.
Provenance and annotations: Bookplate of Warren Greene Ogden, Jr., noting this title from the portion of his library comprising the history of tool building. Good. Item #55452
Full title: L'Art de Tourner, ou de Faire en Perfection Toutes Sortes d'Ouvrages au Tour. Dans Lequel outre les principes & élemens du tour qu'on y enseigne méthodiquement pour tourner tant le bois, l'ivoire &c. que le fer & tous les autres métaux, on voit encore plusieurs belles machines à faire des ovales, tant simples que figurées de toutes grandeurs; la maniere de tourner le globe parfait, le rampant, l'excentrique, les pointes de diamant, les facettes, le panier our échquier, la couronne ondoyante, la rose à raiseau, les manches de couteaux façon d'Angleterre, les ovaries, la rose à jour ondée & goderonnée, les globes concentriques, la massuë à pointes, les tabatieres barlongues de toutes figures, le bâton rompu, les cannelures, les écailles &c. & généralement toutes les methodes les plus secrettes de cet art, avec la disposition des tours, &c. Ouvrage Tres Curieux et Tres necessaire à ceux qui s'exercent au tour. Composé en Francois et en Latin en faveur des etrangers, & enrichi de pres de quatre-vingt planches.
Price: $850.00