École Polytechnique - De Beylié – Fortification – Services du Génie - 1903

Rare volume of courses from the École Polytechnique, devoted to Fortification and the Services of the Génie, dated 1903.

Beautiful copy in an old binding, with a rich dark brown leather spine ornately decorated with gilt lines and dotted tooling. The inscriptions “École Polytechnique”, “Fortification – Services du Génie” and “De Beylié” are directly impressed in gold on the spine.

The work assembles a substantial collection of technical and military courses related to fortification, field works, and the various services of the Génie, accompanied by numerous diagrams, figures and large folding plates.

The presence of the name “De Beylié” on the binding constitutes a particularly interesting provenance element. A possible relation with Léon de Beylié can be suggested given the period, but this attribution is not formally established and the volume is therefore presented without warranty on this point.

Condition: binding solid and decorative despite wear and signs of use, particularly on the spine and at the heads and tails. Interior generally well preserved. Presence of old annotations/highlights and occasional defects visible in the photographs. One plate shows a tear. The other large plates preserved remain especially interesting.

A rather uncommon document on the military education of the École Polytechnique at the beginning of the 20th century, interesting both for military history, the Génie, and the history of the School.