Description:
Rare first edition of this 17th century French military exercise book covering mostly musket drills, but also pike, sword and grenade. L'art militaire françois, pour l'infanterie. Contenant l'exercise et le maniement des armes, tant des officiers que de soldats, réprésenté par des figures en taille-douce dessinées d'après nature.Frontispiece, iv, 174 (of 178), and 83 (of 85) engraved copperplates, each captioned within the plate. Missing title page, a page of the "epistre," pages 87-90 with plates XLIV and XLV.
Pierre Giffart (1637-1723), was a gifted engraver who was appointed engraver to the king in the 1680s. He is both artist, engraver and publisher.Incomplete disbound copy, but with 83 fine copperplate engravings with strong impressions, slight toning and dust to edges, some repairs to paper.