"A vivid and accurate portrait of the military affairs of his time"

Khevenhüller, Ludwig Andreas. Exercitium zu Pferd und zu Fuß [...].

Vienna, Johann Paul Krauss, 1739.

4to (186 x 225 mm). 142, (10) pp. With 20 engraved plates (10 of them folding) and numerous engravings in text. Contemporary speckled boards, rebacked with modern giltstamped brown calf spine.

 2,000.00

The final volume of the second edition of the "Observations-Puncte", Khevenhüller's grand three-part collection of army service directions, hailed as the first drill-book in military history. This section on the cavalry first appeared separately in 1726, then again in 1734; it is here added to the "Observations-Puncte" for the first time. "The most interesting study of the cavalry produced in the age of Charles VI" (Jähns II, 1688). Khevenhüller's (1683-1744) military books long formed "the basis for all organizational and tactical institutions in the Imperial army (Khevenhüller was an Austrian field marshal) and also provide a vivid and accurate portrait of the military affairs of his time" (ADB).

Boards rubbed. Uncut and untrimmed copy, with the sometimes-lacking final leaf of publisher's ads and instructions for the bookbinder. Very rare. Provenance: from the collection of Thomas Fremantle, 3rd Baron Cottesloe (1862-1956), commander of the Territorial Army and president of the Society for Army History Research.

References

Jähns II, 1589. De Ridder 251. Cf. Lipperheide Qe1. Hiler 494.

Stock Code: BN#51128 Tags: ,