L'Art du Facteur d'Orgues by [ORGAN]. Bédos de Celles, Dom François 1709-1779 - 1778

[Paris]: [L.F. Delatour], 1778. First Edition. 2 volumes. Large folio (ca. 444 x 290 mm). Full dark brown leather-backed dark brown pebbled cloth, spine in gilt-ruled compartments with titling gilt, marbled endpapers.

Vol. I:
Part I: 1f. (recto title, verso blank), 1f. (recto "Avertissement," verso blank), xxvi (Préface), xxvii-xxx ("Table des Chapitres"), xxxi-xxxii ("Corrections & Additions à la Préface ... Avis au Relieur"), 142 pp. With "Corrections & Additions" and printed note "De L'Imprimerie de L.F. Delatour, 1766" to foot of final page.

Part II: [1] (title), 2-4 (i.e., pp. 143-146), 147-[475], [i] ("... Corrections & Additions ...") pp.

Part III: Pp. 477-536

Part IV: 1f. (recto title, verso blank), pp. [537]-646[!650], 647[!651]-671[!675] ("Table Alphabétique des Matieres et des Termes ..."), 672[!676]-676[!680] ("Tables des Planches).

Vol. 2:
137 large engraved plates, a number double-page or larger and/or folding, some incorporating musical notation.

Quite a nice, crisp copy internally overall, with wide margins.

Binding quite worn, rubbed and bumped; head and tail of spines slightly chipped with minor loss; upper board of Vol. 1 detached. Vol. I: Light uniform browning; occasional foxing and soiling, a bit heavier to some leaves; minor paper loss and very small tears to a few outer margins; creasing to a number of leaves from original presswork; very occasional mispagination, especially pp. 619-646; Vol. 2: Slightly worn, soiled, and creased; occasional minor foxing; light dampstaining to small area of blank outer margins of several plates; some plates with early paper tape repairs to verso, most often to inner margins, including plate 50 (large folding plate of the Gabler organ), with two small holes along central fold, left margin slightly creased, and one minor tear to central area with small early paper tape repair to verso and plate 77 (large folding plate of the Weingarthen organ); plates 30, 32, and 33 slightly trimmed and laid down; occasional minor imperfections. First Edition. Liebenow p. 3. Gregory-Bartlett I, p. 27. Cortot p. 18. Hirsch I, 54. Wolffheim I, 1124. RISM BVI p. 130.

"These impressive volumes were published as part of the 'Description des arts et métiers.' The plates, many of which are folding, are engraved by Gardete, Goussier and others, and depict organ design and construction in elaborate detail as well as illustrating a number of other keyboard instruments and a hurdy-gurdy; of particular note is the very large folding plate of an organ built by Gabler in 1750, with a fine view of the interior of the Abbey at Weingarthen."

"Bédos de Celles is best known for his writings, particularly his L'art du facteur d'orgues. This work is among the earliest to describe in detail the design and physical construction of the pipe organ and provides a valuable description of classical French organ building. His extensive and highly detailed plates, charts and diagrams deal with aspects of organ design, mixture compositions, pipe scales, pipes and pipe making, and tools and their use. Working from the writings of Marie Dominique Joseph Engramelle, he gave exhaustive instructions on the transfer of musical scores to organ barrels for mechanical playing and provided two complete pieces in the form of pinning charts. This aspect of his work inspired the makers of mechanical organs from his time forward. Bédos de Celles also described a mechanism for a square piano combined with an organ, a claviorgan and a vielle organisée and included a detailed discussion of ornamentation, articulation and principles of organ registration." Guy Oldham and Arthur W.J.G. Ord-Hume in Grove Music Online.