About this Item
4°, contemporary sheep (chafed, upper joint cracking), spine gilt with raised bands in five compartments (upper compartment defective), crimson leather lettering piece in second compartment from head (slightly defective), text-block edges sprinkled. Title page in red and black. Engraved allegorical vignette on f. *3r. Engraved portrait of Gomes Freire de Andrade laid in: trimmed, with small piece missing from frame at lower edge, and with traces of glue on verso. Plate XVI somewhat browned, plate XVIII dampstained. In good condition. Lithograph bookplate: "EMMANVEL" in a circle around a five-pointed star. Engraved portrait, (20 ll.), 444 pp. [i.e., 442; pagination skips from 372 to 375], 20 folding engraved plates and 1 folding table. *** FIRST and ONLY EDITION. This work and Alpoim's Exame de artilheiros, Lisbon 1744, are "proofs of the rebirth of the study of mathematics and engineering in Portugal and the reflection of this movement in Brazil, and they symbolize a Luso-Brazilian contribution to this movement. They are, in short, the first two books on military engineering written in Brazil and the first two 'textbooks' of this kind by a Brazilian author" (Borba de Moraes I, 26).The Exame de bombeiros is a comprehensive textbook on military bombardment. Written in dialogue form, the Exame first covers the mathematics necessary for plotting trajectories, proceeds to a long discussion of mortars and how to use them most effectively, describes more recent inventions such as the howitzer and the petard, and closes with a long treatise on the many types of incendiary shells and their proper use. The text is enhanced with frequent references to the contributions of other military engineers, including Galileo and Vauban, and historical notes on how bombardment had contributed to the success or failure of various military campaigns. The plates depict mortars, projectiles, and incendiary shells, many shown in cross section.Borba de Moraes devotes three pages to unraveling the "veritable bibliographic puzzle" of the printing of this work, and to dispelling the myth that it and/or Alpoim's Exame de artilheiros were printed in Rio de Janeiro by Antonio Isidoro da Fonseca in 1747 - a theory first suggested by Varnhagen. Since the Exame de artilheiros was banned by a decree of 15 July 1744 (for not adhering to the rules for the use of military titles), Varnhagen thought Fonseca might not have wished to publish it under his own imprint. To support his theory, Varnhagen cited the facts that Alpoim was a native of Brazil, that the work was written there and dedicated to Gomes Freire de Andrade, Governor of Brazil, and that the letters to the author in the preliminary leaves are from Brazilians. The most puzzling evidence of all is plate XVII, which has "Rio 1749" engraved in the lower right-hand corner. If this plate was engraved and printed in Brazil, it would be the earliest extant Brazilian engraving. Even Borba de Moraes, who argues strongly that the Exame de bombeiros and Exame de artilheiros were printed in Madrid and Lisbon, as their respective title-pages state, could give no convincing explanation of the plate XVII inscription.Alpoim was born in Rio de Janeiro and served as professor at the Aula de Fortificação in Rio de Janeiro; at his death in 1770 he held the rank of Brigadier.The engraved portrait of Gomes Freire de Andrade is signed by Olivarius Cor. Soares notes that nothing is known of this artist except that he worked in Portugal from 1744-1748, and may have been one of the foreigners invited by D. João V.The other plates, which illustrate geometric figures, cross-sections of cannons, and ballistics, are signed by José Francisco Chaves, about whom Soares had no biographical information.*** Borba de Moraes (1983) I, 25-7: "famous and rare"; Período colonial 9-10. Alden & Landis 748/2. Sacramento Blake IV, 422. Innocêncio IV, 326. Pinto de Mattos (1970) p. 505. Carvalho, Dicionário bibliográfico militar portugues I, 58-9. Soar.
Seller Inventory # 20115
Contact seller
Report this item
