Art de Fabriquer Toutes Sortes d'Ouvrages en Papier, Pour l' Instruction et l'Amusement des Jeunes Gens des Deux Sexes
Paris: Audot, Éditeur, 1828. Twelvemo, measuring 5.75 x 3.5 inches: viii, [9]-106, with hand-colored frontispiece and 21 engraved folding plates inserted after text, 12 pages of publisher’s advertisements bound at rear. Original pink printed wrappers, uncut. Corners creased, wrappers lightly soiled, scattered pinpoint foxing.
First edition of this ingenious guide to paper engineering, teaching applied geometry through step-by-step construction of toy models. Using a ruler, compass, and triangle, children learn to cut and assemble watchtowers, dovecotes, stables, cottages, bridges, boats, churches, and windmills, along with furnishings and props for all. Complete with 22 numbered engraved plates: the hand-colored plate 8 bound as the frontispiece, as usual. Gumuchian 507 (“distraction qui fut tellement à la mode à cette époque.”) A delightful example of learning through play, in the original wrappers.
Price: $850.00