Traité des feux d'artifice. by Frezier, Amédée-François - 1741.

12mo (16,3 x 9,7 cm). [4], XVIII, "394" [=392]. [6] pp. With engraved frontispiece (dated 1707), 3 engraved headpieces (including one repeat) and 8 full-page plates. Contemporary calf, gold-tooled spine, marbled endpapers, red edges. With engraved armorial bookplate of Conte di Salmour ("Del. Cav. di Salmor") on paste-down. Spine rubbed and joints slightly damaged, paper browned, otherwise in good condition.

A rare counterfeit edition of Frezier's extremely influential fireworks manual, first published in 1706.

Divided into three parts it subsequently treats the ingredients of fireworks, the production of various types of fireworks, and finally fireworks displays. Frezier "was an all-round military expert and fortified San Domingo and other places. His book describes coloured fires, Roman candles, set pieces, fireworks burning under water, etc. and is particularly detailed on rockets, incl. those of repeated flight [...], i.e. the prototype of the modern stratosphere rockets and also military rockets containing devices which caused them to rotate in flight" (Partington).

Philip, p. 58 F 110.3; STCN (4 copies); cf. Partington, A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder, p. 177.