Pont en Pierre à Construire sur la Seine, à Rouen

Paris: Goeury, 1815. First Edition. Contemporary full green dyed calf with blind stamped roll and broad gilt rule; elaborate gilt spine panels with raised bands.. Very good; some spotting and toning; modest chafing at the joints.. 4to, [2], 135 pp. + large folding engraved plate.

Lamande, one of the finest French engineers of the early 19th century, was responsible for a number of innovative bridge designs, e.g., the multi-span cast iron Austerlitz Bridge in Paris completed in 1806 - the earliest such bridge in France. The innovation at Rouen was the foundation of the bridge. The pier foundations were constructed on timber piles that were closely set within a caisson and then filled with concrete (béton). This method was specific to the Rouen Bridge because the river ran deep and the current was strong. The principle was later used by Vicat on his notable Souillac Bridge. An important engineering work. Bound in an unusually elaborate manner (presentation?) for such books. Absent from Roberts; see Peters, Transitions in Engineering ...., p. 190, for a discussion of the Austerlitz Bridge.