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LE MECANISME DE LA PAROLE, SUIVI DE LA DESCRIPTION D'UNE MACHINE PARLANTE, et enrichie de XXVII planches.
by KEMPELEN, Wolfgang von.:
- Used
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Vienne, Bauer & se trouve chez J. V. Degen, 1791.. FIRST FRENCH EDITION 1791. LACKS HALF-TITLE, and last 2 leaves of Errata. PRESENT IS ALL MAIN TEXT AND PLATES. Small 8vo, approximately 185 x 120 mm, 7¼ x 4½ inches, engraved portrait and 26 engraved plates, plates 8,9 & 10 bound out of order, pages: ii - xii, 1-464, bound in modern full speckled calf, gilt lettered label to spine, gilt rules and gilt date at foot of spine, new endpapers, edges untrimmed. Engraved frontispiece portrait laid down on old paper, pale age-browning to verso portrait, tip of top corner missing on most pages including title page, no loss to text (see attached images), pale foxing to plates, occasional pale mark, small brown stain to lower corner of 1 plate and 1 page nowhere near image or text, small turning creases to top corners, tiny neat old ink name to top of first pastedown, otherwise a very good copy. Kempelen was famous for Turk the Chess-player, a famous hoax. See: A Catalogue of Printed Books in the Wellcome Library, Volume 3, page 384, listing the French edition; Sotheby's, The Honeyman Collection of Scientific Books, Part V, No. 1779, listing the German edition, published the same year; Brunet, Manuel du Libraire, Volume 3, page 650, listing the French edition; Library Hub Discover listing several copies. MORE IMAGES ATTACHED TO THIS LISTING, ALL ZOOMABLE, FURTHER IMAGES ON REQUEST. POSTAGE AT COST.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Roger Middleton
(GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 47406
- Title
- LE MECANISME DE LA PAROLE, SUIVI DE LA DESCRIPTION D'UNE MACHINE PARLANTE, et enrichie de XXVII planches.
- Author
- KEMPELEN, Wolfgang von.:
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Place of Publication
- Vienne, Bauer & se trouve chez J. V. Degen, 1791.
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Keywords
- automaton mechanics inventions chess science speech voice Machine Parlante
Terms of Sale
Roger Middleton
We have been established booksellers for 42 years. We are a postal business only (strictly no callers). We are long-standing members of the P.B.F.A. the largest trade association for antiquarian booksellers in the UK. We wrap all our parcels in new materials and all our books are insured at our expense. Books may be returned if wrongly described, all costs will be met by us. ****PLEASE NOTE: POSTAGE WILL BE CHARGED AT COST, MEANING THAT POSTAGE WILL BE REDUCED ON PARCELS WEIGHING UNDER 1 KILO, AND IT WILL BE INCREASED ON MOST PARCELS WEIGHING MORE THAN 1 KILO****
About the Seller
Roger Middleton
Biblio member since 2010
Oxford, Oxfordshire
About Roger Middleton
We are a postal business only, selling rare and antiquarian books on interesting subjects.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- Errata
- Errata: aka Errata Slip A piece of paper either laid in to the book correcting errors found in the printed text after being...
- Calf
- Calf or calf hide is a common form of leather binding. Calf binding is naturally a light brown but there are ways to treat the...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Verso
- The page bound on the left side of a book, opposite to the recto page.
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...
- Plate
- Full page illustration or photograph. Plates are printed separately from the text of the book, and bound in at production. I.e.,...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
Collecting and identifying signed letters and holographic documents
Many authors and other famous literary figures wrote and signed letters by hand, and you can find a great collection of them in the Biblio rare book room. See our great collection of handwritten letters and holographic documents
Collecting and Using City Directories
Don’t overlook that old city directory - it is priceless for authors, collectors who focus on specific cities, geneaology, and other niche interests. Learn more...
