Traite de Topographie, d'Arpentage et de Nivellement.

Paris:: Mme. Ve. Courcier, 1820., 1820. Second edition. 4to. (252 x 197 mm) xxvi, [2], 412, [42] pp. 9 engraved plates, 42 pages of tables. Original quarter brown calf over marbled boards, gilt-stamped spine bands, gilt-stamped red calf spine title label; light wear to covers, corners bumped. Minor pencil signature and ink stamp on title-page. Very good. Second, enlarged edition. This very crisp, fine copy of Puissant's work contains all the original folding engraved plates as well as extensive metric tables and scales. / The land maps are used to resolve territorial disputes, they offer precise measurements for international peace treaties, a scale (truncated) for establishing proper tax, to regulate divisions between families when there are disputes. In civil works, the projects for road building, canals, etc., depend on these measurements. In war they serve as sure guides to the troops who must defend or attack as necessary. / A French mathematician and geographer, best remembered for his invention of a new map projection, Puissant was a colonel with the French Army in Pyrenees-Orient and Spain beginning in 1792, and subsequently in 1795 professor of mathematics at several schools in France. In 1802 and 1804, Puissant was engaged by the Italian government to survey and chart the island of Elba. His works include several treatises on geometry and mathematics. BM Readex Vol. 20, p. 1081 (1st ed.); Brunet IV, 962; Graesse V, 506; Poggendorf II, 542. (Inventory #: S9056)