Bernard Forest de Bélidor (1698-1761), Architecture hydraulique, ou l’Art de conduire, d’elever, et de menager les eaux pour les differens besoins de la vie … ([Paris]: C.A. Jombert, 1737-1753). Graphic Arts Collection recap in process

A check of the open stacks recently brought this 18th-century engineering textbook to our attention. Written by Bernard Forest de Bélidor (1698-1761) and published by Charles-Antoine Jombert (1712-1784), under his royal imprint “libraire du Roi pour l’artillerie et le génie,” the four volumes contain over 200 plates by some of the best French engravers of the period, including Antoine Hérisset (1685-1769), Robert François Bonnart (active 1726-1759), Jacques Rigaud (1681-1754), and many others. The books have been moved to our secure department holdings.