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Wylds Surveyor THE ART OF LAND MEASURING ~ 1764

£265.00

1 in stock

Additional information

Weight 1000 g
Dimensions 45 × 35 × 16 mm
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The title page refers to the contents as Showing, by plain and familiar Rules, how to Survey any piece of Land, whatforever, by the Plain-Table, Theodolite, or Circumferentor: or, by the Chain only.
And how to Protract, Cast up, Reduce and Divide the same – LIKEWISE, An early method of Protracting Observations made with the Meridian; and how to cast up the Content of any Plot of Lane, by Reducing any Multangular Figure to one Triangle. There is an Appendix Showing how to Draw Buildings, &c. in Perspective: Of Levelling; and also how to Measure standing Timber – I have changed the Old English as printed into modern letters in the above passages. It has a printed date in Roman Numerals MDCCLXIV which translates to 1764.
The book measures approximately 8 ¼ x 5 ¼ and has 191 pages, these are thicker and softer than modern paper and are of course written in old English with the letters f replacing s etc. in some instances and the spelling of some words different from modern writing.
It is stated that this is the Fifth Edition – Corrected and Enlarged by a Careful Hand ; And Illustrated with several Copper-Plates. There are Seven fold-out diagrams within the pages showing detailed surveyors tools and diagrams.
For its age each page is in VERY GOOD CONDITION, font board loose, the leather cover is complete but the surface has natural wear and fading, and on the back board is still attacked. The gilded border can partially still be seen as can the title Wylds Surveyor on the spine, but this has also faded. The stringing has held the pages tight to the spine.
The book is complete with no missing pages or tears, (apart from a small split on the edge of one of the fold-out diagrams) There is a previous owners neat inscription and date on the first end-paper and some pencilled price marks inside the cover, also the date in pencil underneath the roman numerals.
The pages are clean and easily readable with surprisingly little foxing apart from the edges of the first few pages at either end of the book and a little on some of the edges near the diagrams. This book gives us rare insight to how early accurate map suveying was painstaking carried out.