70. Le Clerc, Sébastien.
Traité de géométrie théorique et pratique, à l'usage des artistes. Paris,
1774.
Not now owned by the University.
For information about Le Clerc, see No. 69. Sowerby says that the 1774
edition is an octavo of 124 leaves with 54 folded engraved plates. The
first edition of this work has been variously dated as either 1668 or 1669,
but the 1744 edition seems to be the first with engravings.
From an examination of the 1764 edition which is on the University's
shelves (*QA464.L46.1764) it would appear, in spite of the
charming engravings after drawings by Cochin fils, that the book is essentially
a handbook of geometry for artisans, who are, presumably, the
"artistes" of the title.
Jefferson's own copy of this work was sold to Congress. Although
he had not ordered it for the University, there was a copy of the 1764
edition in its collections before 1828, but it has not survived.
M
Sowerby 3710
