Sigaud de la Fond - Leçons de physique expérimentale - 1767

First edition of an important eighteenth-century work on experimental physics, published by the French physicist Joseph-Aignan Sigaud de La Fond (1730–1810), student of Abbot Jean-Antoine Nollet and a prominent figure in spreading scientific teaching during the Enlightenment. The work presents, through lectures and experiments, the main phenomena of physics, with particular attention to mechanics, the properties of matter, hydrostatics, pneumatics, acoustics, optics, and other areas of the physical sciences. Of particular interest are the numerous copper engravings depicting experimental apparatus, machines, measuring instruments, and devices used in eighteenth-century physics cabinets. Bibliographic description and collation Volume I Glaçon and title page. Preface and preliminaries with Roman numeral pagination up to XV. Text and subject table: 424 pages. Unnumbered errata, printed on both sides of a sheet. Two unnumbered leaves containing the Approbation and the Privilège du Roi, with the last verso blank. Sections of the text: A–R¹², S⁴, T⁴, according to the collations performed. 12 folded copper-engraved plates, numbered I–XII. Volume II Glaçon and title page. Text and subject table: 501 pages numbered. Unnumbered errata on the verso of the last leaf of the text. Sections: A–V¹², X¹¹, according to the collations performed. 18 folded copper-engraved plates, numbered I–XVIII. Two final blank leaves, of paper similar to that of the text. Illustrative apparatus Altogether 30 folded copper-engraved plates physically present, corresponding to 18 distinct plates. The first volume contains plates I–XII. The second volume again contains plates I–XII, in addition to plates XIII–XVIII. The series were checked and are continuous, with no gaps in the numbering. Bibliographic note Comparison with the digitized copy from the European Library of Information and Culture (BEIC) allowed verification of the particular arrangement of leaves and plates. In the BEIC copy the pages of the Approbation and the Privilège du Roi are after the errata of the second volume; in the present copy they are bound at the end of the first volume. The leaves are therefore present, though placed in a different position. Furthermore, while the arrangement provided by the notice to the binder of the original edition calls for twelve plates for the first volume and six for the second, the present copy preserves the twelve plates of the first volume also in the second, for a total material of thirty plates. Pagination and the order of the registered signatures are consistent. No gaps were found in the sequences checked. Binding Two volumes in elegant contemporary artistic bindings, done in a antique style, in full brown pigskin. Boards richly decorated with large lozenge geometric motifs, gilt fillets, and multicolored floral ornaments. Spines with raised bands, impressed ornaments, red cords, gilt titles and volume numbers. Paste-downs covered with multicolored marbled paper and gilt decorative borders. The bindings are modern, not contemporary with the eighteenth-century printing. Condition An exemplar with deckle edges and partially untrimmed. Original page margins preserved without systematic trimming; many leaves still show the characteristic irregular edges of old paper. Some leaves are still bound along the folds, having never been opened for reading. Interior elements generally in good condition, with clear print and well-preserved paper. Occasional foxing, light stains, creases, small tears, and marginal irregularities, especially around the deckle edges. The folded copper-engraved plates appear well preserved overall, with normal storage creases and modest signs of time. The artistic bindings are in excellent overall condition, with only slight signs of use. Collector interest An interesting first edition of a work devoted to teaching experimental physics in eighteenth-century France. The exemplar is distinguished by: - Its deckle edges and partially untrimmed state. - The presence of thirty folded copper-engraved plates, including twelve repetitions. - The preservation of the Approbation and Privilège royal leaves. - The elegant modern artistic bindings, uniform and richly decorated. - The historical interest of the numerous depictions of seventeenth-century scientific instruments. A particularly decorative and interesting set for collectors of old books on physics, the history of science, and scientific instrumentation. The photographs are an integral part of the description and document the actual state of the specimen.

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