Clockmaking. BERTHOUD, Ferdinand. L' arte di adoperare e regolare gli Orioli a pendolo e da tasca.

BERTHOUD, Ferdinand. L'arte di adoperare e regolare gli Orioli a pendolo e da tasca. Ad uso di quei che non hanno cognizione alcuna del mestiere dell'Oriolajo. Opera del ... Ferdinando Berthoud. Tradotta per la prima volta dal francese.

Firenze, Per lo Stecchi e Pagani, 1778

In 12mo. 130X75 mm. Contemporary cardboard binding. Pages 12, 113, [3, with a folded table], 4 folded copper engraved plates outside the text. Ex libris Ballanti Pietro Bologna glued to the inside cover. Excellent condition. 

Rare Italian first edition. Comprehensive treatise on the art of clockmaking, with particular attention to pocket watches. Illustrated with tables and four folded engraved plates accurately depicting the various mechanisms described in the text. Ferdinand Berthoud, 1727 - 1807, a famous French watchmaker of Swiss origin, was a man of great culture and an expert in astronomy and navigation techniques. He conceived and designed watches and instruments in these scientific fields. He was watchmaker to the King and the Navy, and invented the first marine chronometer that allowed the measurement of longitude at sea to be specified. Together with Le Roy, he was the first Frenchman to present a chronograph accurate enough to be useful for navigation. In 1759, he published his first specialist text in Paris: L'Art de conduire et de régler les pendules et les montres, à l'usage de ceux qui n'ont aucune connaissance d'horlogerie (The Art of Conducting and Regulating Pendulum Clocks and Watches, for the Use of Those Who Have No Knowledge of Horology); this is the Italian translation.

Cfr. Ferdinand Berthoud (1727-1807). Horloger mécanicien du roi et de la marine, International Museum of Horology, La Chaux-de-Fonds; National Navy Museum, Paris, 1984, 343 p.