LIPSIUS (Justus). Poliorceticon sive de machinis tormentis t - Lot 130

LIPSIUS (Justus). Poliorceticon sive de machinis tormentis telis. Libri Quinque. Ad Historicam lucem. Rare first edition of this military treatise on war machines, sieges and the principles of fortification. Antverpiæ [Antwerp], ex officina plantiniana apud Viduam, & Ioannem Moretum, 1596. In-8 (25 × 18 cm), remi green calf, smooth spine decorated with gilt small irons with warrior motifs and ribbons (19th century binding). Binding very rubbed, interior well marbled, foxing. Illustrated with 21 full-page steel-engraved plates (some divided into 2) and 10 in-text plates, depicting siege machines or tactics. First edition. A treatise on war machines by Justus Lipsius (1547-1606), one of the most important German humanists of the 16th century. He wrote this essay while a professor at Louvain. He was a close friend of Plantin and his successor Moretus. This treatise deals mainly with siege techniques, land and sea attack machinery, and the principles of fortification. The text is in Latin and Greek.