Amsterdam, Petrus Schenk [en Zoon], 1757-1774. Two parts in one. Tall folio (54.5 x 34.4 cm). Half-title; title in red and black with finely engraved vignette by J. Wandelaar; two engraved dedication pages with coats of arms, "Beemsterlandts wapen"; 14; 9 pp.; 55 numbered, double-sized or larger engraved plates on 48 sheets; including seven triple-sized, double folded (55 x 88 cm) and double-numbered. Contemporary red half calf over marbled boards.

Second edition. Published in two parts, the second after a 14-year gap, and with a supplement with another text leaf and six plates, therefore not always found complete. Much rarer than Van der Horst’s similarly titled work on staircases. Tieleman van der Horst and Jacob Polley were Dutch structural engineers. Little else is known about them, principally because they - like most skilled workers - did not belong to the higher classes. Their constructions and the illustrations and explanations thereof, however, were essential in keeping Holland dry. Provenance: small stamp of the K. K. Bau Archiv on the title page. Boards and spine a bit rubbed, and except for a small stain on a few plate margins, near the lower edge, internally very good, clean. Brunet V, p. 1082.