Fine Books & Manuscripts

[ROYAL BINDING]. PINGRÉ, Alexandre Guy (1711–1796). Etat du Ciel, Pour L’An de Grace…Bissextile. Calculé sur les principes de M. Newton, rapporté à l’usage de la Marine. Paris: Durand et Pissot, 1756. 8vo in fours. Numerous Moon tables based on the work of le Monnier and a woodblock vignette of Saturn, folding map of the Hyades star cluster from the observations made by M. de Seligny titled Carte des Hyades Etoiles dela Constellation du Taureau. Contemporary French crushed plum levant, covers gilt tooled with the royal arms of Louis Philippe I Duke of Orleans (1725-1785) inside gilt fillets with fleuron cornerpieces, raised bands, fleuron tooled centerpieces gilt, all edges gilt, gilt dentelles, marbled endpapers (corners and joints rubbed, spine also a bit rubbed, small closed tear to upper margin affecting A4–F4, light staining to lower margin of title). Provenance: Library of Joseph Bowles Learmont of Montreal (sold Anderson Galleries, New York 5 March 1917). FIRST EDITION of the third and final installment of this nautical almanac first published in 1754 that contains the astronomer’s observations based on the work of le Monnier. A very scarce work on astronomy with only one holding in the United States (The Bancroft Library at Berkeley). OCLC 28007192.