1847. Large oblong folio, pp. [iv], 24, [2]; with 22 letterpress tables (20 double-page), each with line-engraved geometric projection, and three further engraved plates; paper a little browned throughout due to paper quality, some light foxing to the engraved plates; an attractive, seemingly deluxe copy in contemporary red morocco, all edges gilt, spine in compartments ruled and lettered in gilt and blind, covers with central gilt garland within blind and gilt ruled borders, with gilt dentelles and attractive embossed floral endpapers, head and tail of spine a little worn, extremities of covers slightly darkened with some minor surface wear and soiling, corners a little worn; a most attractive copy. First edition of this detailed and practical computational work for civil engineers, providing cubic metric tables to assist in the volumetric calculation of earthworks in relation to railway, canal and road cuttings and embankments. This attractively produced work is dedicated to Baron James de Rothschild, the banker par excellence of the industrial era, and founder of the Compagnie du chemin de fer du Nord in 1845.
According to Hughes, this is the first work of its kind, published at the behest of Rothschild, and in response to the civil engineering challenges being posed by the rapid expansion of the French transport infrastructure. His aim was to ‘make the calculations required by these major works faster and more reliable’ (dedication). ‘The ability to be able to calculate in a prompt and reliable manner, the volumes of cuttings and embankments in the construction of a railway, canal, road, etc., is so generally desired that we hope that practical men will favourably receive a work which, by its use, will bring great speed combined with great accuracy to their operations.’ (preface)
This appears to be a deluxe edition, with the tables printed on one side only to enable them to be bound as double-page plates for ease of use. Contemporary catalogues of the publisher Mathias note that the price of this edition was 23 francs, as opposed to 18 francs for an ordinary edition. The three engraved plates are from drawings by the author, who was himself a civil engineer - although we have so far been unable to find any further biographical information.
The Compagnie du Chemin de Fer du Nord operated the railway network in Northern France from 1845 to 1938, and was founded by Rothschild and his associates on the 20th September 1845. It operated the state concession of lines from Paris to the Belgian border via Lille and Valenciennes, together with associated branch lines. It retained the name Compagnie du Chemin de Fer du Nord despite the absorption of other companies in the Northern France sector. It soon attracted a high volume of traffic, and served as a model for other major companies.