A RARE EARLY 19TH CENTURY HAND WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED MILIT...

Estimate

£400 - £600

A RARE EARLY 19TH CENTURY HAND WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED MILITARY MANUSCRIPT
Titled ‘A System of Practical Gunnery’ by William Purves in 1821 (later Captain William Purves 9th Native Infantry)’, an expertly executed hand-written treatise on ballistics and the ‘art of charging fire arms’, features a fine calligraphic descriptions hand-colored geometric lettering and detailed ink and wash illustrations, including cannon fire trajectories against architectural targets. Written in a sharp copperplate hand, the text covers the geometry and mechanics of projectiles, signed to first page dated 1821, in marbled binding containing sixty pages.


Condition: very slight creasing and staining