240 - [PERRAULT, Pierre]. On the Origin of Fountains.

[PERRAULT, Pierre]. On the Origin of Fountains. First edition of this important treatise on hydrology. A copy in a contemporary binding, bearing the monogram of the engineer and bibliophile Louis-Alexandre Barbet. Paris: Pierre Le Petit, 1674. In-12, full brown grained calfskin, ribbed spine, ornamented panels with small gilded ironwork and a central fleur-de-lis, covers stamped with a central gilded monogram “A.B.” rendered in dotted lines and surrounded by a surveyor’s chain, gilded scrolls at the corners, edges speckled red. 10 unnumbered folios (title page, epistle, preface, privilege), 353 pp. and 3 unnumbered folios (table of contents). Engraved frontispiece. Corners worn, joints rubbed, cap bands missing, three small wormholes on the upper cover, virtually free of foxing. First edition of this seminal work on modern hydrology, dedicated to Christian Huygens and published anonymously by Pierre Perrault (1611–1680), the older brother of the famous storyteller. Using an innovative experimental and statistical method applied to the Seine basin, the hydrologist demonstrates for the first time that runoff from rain and snow is more than sufficient to continuously feed rivers and springs. From the library of Louis-Alexandre Barbet (1850–1931), engineer and bibliophile, author of the reference work *Les Grandes Eaux de Versailles* (1907). Bears his initials stamped on the covers and a wet seal reading “Barbet, 53 avenue de Paris, Versailles.” A fine copy in a contemporary binding, complete with its attractive engraved allegorical frontispiece.