Leybourn, William, The Compleat Surveyor: Containing The whole Art of Surveying of Land, by the Plain Table, Theodolite, Circumferentor, and Peractor. (London, 1674), Third Edition. The Compleat Surveyor was a major work of the period with five editions from 1653 thru 1722. Each edition of the book was larger in content and substance and brought the work to a standard that exceeded most others of the time. George Washington apparently focused on Leybourn’s Compleat Surveyor as a young man studying the art of surveying.

Details about the book: [20], 1-107, then 429 pages plus a portrait frontispiece and five folding plates; bound in contemporary calf with marbled endpapers re-backed in recent calf with gilt decoration and a black morocco spine label. "

The main text is complete, very nicely printed within printed borders and with margins. As with all copies of this edition, the pagination is irregular, jumping at the end of the third book, between page [108] and page [183], at which the fourth book begins. The plates, like the text pages, are clean and crisp but with one plate dusty at the fore edge. The pages before the main text, however, leave a bit to be desired. The central engraved portrait of the frontispiece has been laid onto a contemporary leaf, as has the area of the title page within its printed border. There has been some damage to the title page printing with four or five words rubbed from the sub-title. Furthermore, the first page of the "General Survey" - table of contents - has been misbound so as to immediately follow the title page and to precede the Dedication leaf. There is no sign of a half-title, but the Dedication leaf {2 pages}, The Preface to the Reader (7 pages), The General Survey and advert and corrigenda leaves {7 pages in all) are all present, as is the leaf advertising the author's teaching prospectus and list of publications - though this leaf has been trimmed into the text at the page edges.

So we have here a complete book in both text and illustrations, but a small portion has suffered from the ravages of time and a careless binder.  I think this is a really great book notwithstanding these faults. While looking like a book that's 445 years old, the book has a really tight binding, which allows you to read and enjoy the book. Plus, the pages inside are amazingly crisp and clean.

The book measures 11 inches by 7.5 inches.

Price: SOLD
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