Roberts & Trent, 81-82 (this copy); DSB, III, p. 439-446.<\/i><\/p>\n
Exceptional Sammelband of 14 pieces on an abandoned project of canal construction in Brittany under Louis XVI.<\/p>\n
It is extra illustrated with an engraved map of the projected canals of that region (\u2018Carte figurative des rivi\u00e8res et des canaux projet\u00e9s pour la navigation int\u00e9rieure de Bretagne\u2019) by Ollivaut. Coulomb’s last major consulting duties as an officer of the military engineering corps concerned plans for a canal system linking Angers, Nantes, and St. Malo, and for a harbour development at St. Malo. Unfortunately for Coulomb, the scheme proposed by the Breton canal commission, and vigorously promoted by its head, the Comte de Pir\u00e9, was grandiose and expensive. Unaware of the political implications, Coulomb and the other consultants \u2018insisted on assessing the harbour scheme as it really was \u2013 a project that would be both economically and technically unfeasible\u2019. Outraged, the canal commission applied pressure to Coulomb\u2019s superiors, and, on an absurd technicality, he and an associate were briefly jailed. Already having realized his situation, Coulomb had attempted to resign from the royal engineers or to have another engineer assigned to the project, pleading ill health, lack of social rank, and lack of diplomatic skills. Nonetheless, his superiors assented to the Estates\u2019 demand that Coulomb return to supervise the project. Doomed from the outset, work on the canals began in June of 1784 and was abandoned, uncompleted, that October. In 1785, the Estates of Brittany awarded Coulomb a bo\u00eete d\u2019or (golden box) in lieu of a monetary gift. Perhaps more gratifying, though , was the 1786 committee report on the Breton canals, which confirmed his original assessment of the project.<\/p>\n
This rare report incudes an extract from the Etats, the Commission Report, Chezy\u2019s report, Coulomb\u2019s report, Proc\u00e8s-verbal by Coulomb and Robinet, Memoir by Frignet, Breakdown of estimated costs for the different component parts, Memoir by Frignet, Memoir by de Brie, Memoir by Bremontier, Memoir of Liard, Memoir dated 15 October 1784 by Liard with acknowledgement by Paviot on last page, Observations by Rosnyvinen de Pir\u00e9, le fils, and Tableau de la Communication Int\u00e9rieure du Royaume de France\u201d.<\/p>\n
Tipped-in Bound in at had : Bifolium of blue paper, 3 pp., entitled Mani\u00e8re de verifier le niveau d\u2019air \u00e0 Lunette. And a leaf, 1 \u00bd pp. bearing \u2018Rapport de M. de Ch\u00e9zy\u2019 bearing additions to that article tipped in facing page 6 of that report. (See Bibliotheca Mechanica)<\/p>\n
“Coulomb’s most celebrated engineering consulting task was in Brittany in 1783-84. Here he became involved, against his will, in a commission to recommend canal and harbor improvements. The commission (which included Borda and the abb\u00e9 Alexis Marie Rochon) submitted a critical report and Colomb suffered as the scapegoat, being confined to prison for one week in November 1783” (DSB).<\/p>\n
Exceptional Sammelband.<\/p>\n
Small loss to bottom of spine, else fine.<\/p>\n
Book plate of Bibliotheca Mechanica.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sammelband of 14 pieces, folio (330 x 205 mm) titlepage, 8 + 68 + 10 + 16 + 6 + 24 + 12 + 23 + 40 pp. and one folding table + 36 + 1 unn.l. 45 + 24 pp. and one table + 4 pp. and 1 table + 1 unn.l. Contemporary marbled calf, spine gilt with raised bands, red edges (light wear to spine and corners<\/i>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":76122,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[550],"product_tag":[580,1215],"class_list":{"0":"post-76137","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-science","7":"product_tag-hydraulic","8":"product_tag-regionalism","9":"pa_auteur-coulomb-charles-augustin-de-2","10":"pa_type-de-livre-printed-book","12":"first","13":"instock","14":"shipping-taxable","15":"purchasable","16":"product-type-simple"},"acf":{"artist":" Charles Augustin de COULOMB","chapeau":"","adresse_bibliographique":"Rennes, Nicolas-Paul Vatar, 1785","book_type":"Printed book","provenance":"","afficher_prix":""},"yoast_head":"\n