Riforma De’ Carri Di Quattro Ruote.
Treviso, at the Author’s Expense 1785.
8vo (203 x 123 mm.). [iix], CXIIp. and NINE FOLDING ENGRAVED PLATES. Engraving of a carriage on the title.
Contemporary vellum over stiff paper boards, 19th-century manuscript spine title label, edges sprinkled red.
Only Edition. This treatise on the construction of passenger and freight carriages includes “some principles which would astonish ‘modern’ engineers. The author suggests reforms in design of hubs, bodies, tongues, suspension, springing, and perches, and offers a unique vehicle for turning in short radius — with both front and rear axles shifting as vehicle turns” (Rittenhouse). The plates illustrate both the mechanics of his designs and the assembled coaches. In nice condition.
¶Rittenhouse, Carriage Hundred: A Bibliography on Horse-Drawn Transportation 74 (now my favorite bibliography).
Price: $2,600.00