GRAPHODROMIE ou Ecriture cursive applicable a tous les idiomes.
. . . Inventee et adaptee a la langue Francaise par F. J Astier. Avec 13 planches gravees au Burin par Ambroise Tardieu. Pp. [vi]+viii+128, 13 engraved plates; demy 8vo; in a handsome early binding of crimson morocco, the spine lettered and richly decorated in gilt compartments featuring fleurons, interlocking shapes and pointilles, the boards with the device of the Typographia Regia [French Royal Printing Office] at centre, surrounded by elaborate wide borders of fleurons, linked geometric shapes, fleurs de lis and gilt rules, gilt edges, a trifle rubbed; a.e.g.; dentelles decorated in gilt; later (not recent) endpapers, ownership stamp of B. de La Mothe, Colonel d'Artillerie on the half-title page, outer leaves lightly foxed; L'auteur, Paris, 1816. First edition. *The author was a French government official who developed a method of cursive shorthand that was phonetic, with each symbol representing a sound or a syllable rather than a letter. He claimed that the system could be learned in less than a month and would result in increased productivity and saving of administrative paperwork. The 13 plates, which include the frontispiece and title page, are by the cartographer and engraver Ambroise Tardieu (1788-1841). Item #184651
Price: $3,000.00