[8], 279, [1] pp. With woodcut illustrations on title-page & its verso, woodcut of a lansquenet facing the first page of text and repeated at the end of the text, 119 full-page wood-cuts, one half-page wood-cut diagram, decorative wood-cut initials, typographic illustrations in the text depicting military maneuvers. (sm. folio) 32.8x21.5 cm. (13x8½"), period calf stamped in gilt.
First edition published in France of this important publication related to Medieval Military armament and strategies, featuring early wook-cut techniques and 3-dimensional paraline elevation oblique representations, as well as typographic innovations. covers with the supralibros in bright gilt of Petrus de Villars Cardinal Archbishop of Austria and an ink inscription on the title page noting it is from his library. Fairfax notes: “120 full-page cuts of military engines & c... several resembling those in Valturius but evidently adapted mostly in reverse from the edition of Erfurt 1511. Among the more remarkable cuts, not represented in the Valturius, are pneumatic beds, similar boots for walking in the water, diving dresses, improved firearms, and ‘armoured train’, impenetrable footwear, etc...." Originally a treatise of Roman warfare and military principles written in the late Roman Empire, and a presentation of methods and practices in use during the height of Rome's power, this also became an important military guide in the Middle Ages. Mortimer, French XVIth Century books, II, 535; Fairfax-Murray, Early French Books, II, 560.
Condition:
Binding expertly refurbished and restored; darkening to a small number of pages within, other minor aging, a near fine copy.