INVENTION OF THE CANON PAIXHANS

PAIXHANS, H.J.

Nouvelle Force Maritime, et Application de cette Force a quelques Parties du Service de L'Armée de Terre: Essai sur L'État actuel des moyens de la Force maritime; Sur une Espece nouvelle D'Artillerie de Mer, quidétruirait promptenment les Vaissaux de Haut-Bord; Sur la Construction de Navires a voile et a vapeur, de grandeur modérée, qui, Armés de cette Artillerie.....

Paris, Bachelier, 1822. 4to. Contemp. hcalf. Spine gilt. A paperlabel pasted on lower part of spine. Stamps on titlepage. (4),XV,458 pp. and 7 large folded engraved plates. A few scattered brownspots, plates with marginal brownspots. With the stamped monogram of the Danish king Frederik VI on inside frontcover. printed on good paper and broadmargined.

Scarce first edition in which Paixhans describes his invention og the so-called Paixhans-gun, or in French: Canon Paixhans, which was the first naval gun using explosives shells.
"General Paixhans made importent improvements in the construction of heavy ordnance, and also in the projectiles, in the carriages, and in the mode of working the guns. The Paixhans-guns are especially adapted for the projection of shells and hollow shot, and were the first adopted in France about the year 1824. Similiar pieces of ordonance have since been introduced into the British Service. They are suitable either for ships of war, or for fortresses which defends coasts..."(Penny Encyclopedia)

Order-nr.: 40012