SPECKLE (Daniel). - Lot 139

SPECKLE (Daniel). Architectura von Vestungen. Strasbourg, Lazare Zessner, 1599. In-folio, modern vellum. Cockle, no. 789. - Marini, pp. 36-37. Second edition of the treatise by Daniel Speckle (or Specklin) (1536-1589), a Strasbourg architect and military engineer, who was one of the best German writers on the art of fortifying places. His work had first appeared in the Alsatian capital ten years earlier. This superb edition features an architectural title-frontispiece printed in red and black, a portrait of the author, an engraved coat of arms at the head of the dedication, and 25 double-page plates with the exception of one. Copy from the library at Berghof, Hitler's lair perched in the Bavarian Alps: it bears the seal and stamp of seizure by the Second Armored Division, with this handwritten note This item comes from the personal collections of Adolf Hitler at Berghof, Berchtesgaden, 4/5-1945. Freckling, wetness at the corners or in the margins of a few leaves, small traces of worms (mostly repaired). Title-frontispiece soiled and reinforced in inner margin.