Details

Subjects:

Fortification -- Italy -- Early works to 1800.
Military architecture -- Early works to 1800.
Military architecture.
Fortification.
Italy.

Form/Genre:

Codices.
Diagrams.
Pen and wash drawings.
Manuscripts, Italian.
Manuscripts, European.

Summary:

Plans of fortifications for use at the royal academy of artillery and fortification founded in Turin in 1678, consisting entirely of figures of plans and elevations, some with landscape elements added in the background.

Notes:

Ms. codex.
Foliation: Paper, ii + 179 + ii; [1-179]; modern foliation in pencil, upper right recto.
Decoration: Title in red, blue and black with large vignette depicting the goddess of war surrounded by military trophies and cherubs engaged in surveying, drawing, and planning (f. 1r); 2 full-page rococo vignettes (f. 32r, 55r), plans and elevations executed in pen and ink, mostly with colored washes added, all with ink ruled borders.
Binding: Contemporary boards, red morocco back gilt (seller's description, inside upper cover).
Origin: Written in Turin in 1759 (title page, f. 1r).

Penn Provenance:

Formerly owned by Admiral Archibald Duff (armorial bookplate, 1858, inside front cover).
Sold by Marlborough Rare Books Ltd. (London), cat. 81 (1978), no. 14 (description inside front cover).
Gift of G. Holmes Perkins (University of Pennsylvania bookplate, front flyleaf), 1978.
Transferred from Fine Arts Library to Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania, 2013.

Contributor:

Duff, Archibald, -1858, former owner.
Perkins, G. Holmes (George Holmes), donor.

OCLC:

80198838