FULTON, ROBERT. Torpedo War, and Submarine Explosions, New York: Printed by William Elliot 1810. Oblong small folio, ORIGINAL MARBLED WRAPPERS, spine a little chipped and with small repairs, half morocco slipcase. FIRST EDITION, 5 wood-engraved plates, PRESENTATION COPY TO GASPARD MONGE, inscribed by Fulton on front flyleaf: "To Mr. Monge From the author." The recipient (1746-1818) was a French mathematician and the inventor of descriptive geometry; during the French Revolution he wrote a book for the Committee of Public Safety on the manufacturing of cannons (see Encyclopaedia Britannica). Laid in is an autograph draft of a letter from Monge to President James Madison and the members of both Houses of Congress, n.p., 1810, one page, folio, with revisions, integral blank leaf, regarding Fulton's torpedoes: Monge announces that he is publishing an account of his own experiments and discusses some of the technical difficulties he still encounters, warning that the design of the torpedo remains to be perfected before one can actually be put to use; he appeals to Madison for his continued support. Howes F 417; Sabin 26199; Rink, Technical Americana 2195; Printing and the Mind of Man 264.A fine copy--and rare in the original wrappers and with a presentation inscription--of the first book on underwater warfare. Fulton sent copies to all members of Congress in an effort to gain support for the development of the torpedo as a defensive weapon. Congress did not provide the funding necessary for Fulton's work; it was another century before his ideas revolutionized naval warfare.

FULTON, ROBERT. Torpedo War, and Submarine Explosions, New York: Printed by William Elliot 1810. Oblong small folio, ORIGINAL MARBLED WRAPPERS, spine a little chipped and with small repairs, half morocco slipcase. FIRST EDITION, 5 wood-engraved plates, PRESENTATION COPY TO GASPARD MONGE, inscribed by Fulton on front flyleaf: "To Mr. Monge From the author." The recipient (1746-1818) was a French mathematician and the inventor of descriptive geometry; during the French Revolution he wrote a book for the Committee of Public Safety on the manufacturing of cannons (see Encyclopaedia Britannica). Laid in is an autograph draft of a letter from Monge to President James Madison and the members of both Houses of Congress, n.p., 1810, one page, folio, with revisions, integral blank leaf, regarding Fulton's torpedoes: Monge announces that he is publishing an account of his own experiments and discusses some of the technical difficulties he still encounters, warning that the design of the torpedo remains to be perfected before one can actually be put to use; he appeals to Madison for his continued support. Howes F 417; Sabin 26199; Rink, Technical Americana 2195; Printing and the Mind of Man 264. A fine copy--and rare in the original wrappers and with a presentation inscription--of the first book on underwater warfare. Fulton sent copies to all members of Congress in an effort to gain support for the development of the torpedo as a defensive weapon. Congress did not provide the funding necessary for Fulton's work; it was another century before his ideas revolutionized naval warfare.

Details

FULTON, ROBERT. Torpedo War, and Submarine Explosions, New York: Printed by William Elliot 1810. Oblong small folio, ORIGINAL MARBLED WRAPPERS, spine a little chipped and with small repairs, half morocco slipcase. FIRST EDITION, 5 wood-engraved plates, PRESENTATION COPY TO GASPARD MONGE, inscribed by Fulton on front flyleaf: "To Mr. Monge From the author." The recipient (1746-1818) was a French mathematician and the inventor of descriptive geometry; during the French Revolution he wrote a book for the Committee of Public Safety on the manufacturing of cannons (see Encyclopaedia Britannica). Laid in is an autograph draft of a letter from Monge to President James Madison and the members of both Houses of Congress, n.p., 1810, one page, folio, with revisions, integral blank leaf, regarding Fulton's torpedoes: Monge announces that he is publishing an account of his own experiments and discusses some of the technical difficulties he still encounters, warning that the design of the torpedo remains to be perfected before one can actually be put to use; he appeals to Madison for his continued support. Howes F 417; Sabin 26199; Rink, Technical Americana 2195; Printing and the Mind of Man 264.

A fine copy--and rare in the original wrappers and with a presentation inscription--of the first book on underwater warfare. Fulton sent copies to all members of Congress in an effort to gain support for the development of the torpedo as a defensive weapon. Congress did not provide the funding necessary for Fulton's work; it was another century before his ideas revolutionized naval warfare.