P. Paul Hoste. L'ART DES ARMÉES NAVALES, OU TRAITÉ DES ÉVOLUTIONS NAVALES. Lyon: Chez les Freres Bruyset, 1727. Second edition. Modern speckled calf over marbled paper-covered boards, raised bands and gilt-titled morocco label, with speckled edges. Folio; [12], 424pp. (lacking a half-title?) with (133) numbered plates and one additional plate. With detailed engraved head- and tail-pieces and initials. Bound without Théorie de la Construction des Vaisseaux which typically resides in the same volume. Stamped "Bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe London, England" on top edge of first free endpaper verso. Text in French. According to Brunet and Grässe, this second edition is more complete than the first. Backer-Sommervogel calls it "la même édition, avec un simple changement de titre" (p. 480). Backer-Sommervogel 4/479; Brunet 8516; Grässe 3/377.

14 x 9 5/8 in.

Private North Carolina Collection

Paul Hoste (1652-1700) was an expert on naval strategy with many years of experience at sea, and a mathematics professor in southern France. He wrote "the first major work on naval tactics," the successful L'Art des Armées Navales, ou Traité des Évolutions Navales (The Art of Naval Armies, or Treatise on Naval Evolutions), in 1697. It was republished in 1727 and continued to be influential. In the book, Hoste describes "his five ordres de marche. These retained their primacy in the French service throughout the age of sail." His overall focus was on defense: "Much attention was given to avoiding an engagement. Defense against doubling was treated at greater length than the art of doubling itself, and seen exclusively in terms of the inferior fleet. Above all, his defensive cast of mind is revealed by the continuous acceptance of the leeward station as a basis for tactical demonstration." (Tunstall, Naval Warfare in the Age of Sail, p. 59 and 62)

Sturdy boards with light edgewear and minor scuffing and scratching, corners bumped, joints slightly rubbed with some cracking, minor creasing on spine; interior with small area of cracking at front hinge, endpapers with binding stains at corners, light to moderate toning throughout with spotting to some leaves, with scattered foxing and small areas of damp staining (concentrated in upper corner starting at p. 373), and occasional small area of grime/residue and chip or closed tear at edges; one plate with small, inconspicuous tear; very good condition.