1782 L ' ART DE NAGER THE ART OF SWIMMING BY MELCHISÉDECH THÉVENOT ENGRAVED PLATES
Item History & Price
"Good swimmers are today relegated to climates where our luxury and our delicacy have not yet penetrated. Asia, Afirca and America, offer a host of characters of all kinds, all ages and all walks of life, who greatly value this important recreation. All negroes learn to swim from a very young age. Often we have been suprised by the immense journeys they make, either to go fishing, or to return to their homeland. Trustworthy observers have witnessed them swimming with great vigor for th...e space of forty leagues." L'ART DE NAGER. [THE ART OF SWIMMING, WITH ADVICE FOR SWIMMING USEFULLY, Preceded by an essay, where one develops the science of the Ancients in the Art of swimming, the importance of this exercise & the usefulness of bathing, for enhanced health or when sick. A useful work for everyone, especially for the education of young soldiers of the Royal Naval Corps.] Melchisédech Thévenot. Paris: Chez Lamy, Libraire, quai des Augustins, 1782. FOURTH EDITION. French language. Reviewed, corrected & greatly increased; Followed by the Dissertation on the Baths of the Orientals by Mr. Antoine Timothy [pp 331-363, bound between text and illustrations]. Figures drawn and engraved by Charles Moette. 8vo. 363 pages + 12 page supplement, etchings, bibliography. Though the title page calls for 22 plates, this copy was bound with only 20, including 1-18, 20 and 21. Lacking plan of a swimming school by Martinet in the supplement and plate 19. Bound in period calf, red leather title label, spine stamped in gilt; exhibiting rubbing, edgewear, bit of worming to both boards and bottom of most leaves throughout [not affecting text], old leather repair at joints; marbled endpapers; pages slightly wavy, else textblock clear and unmarked. First printed in 1696, this is an early work on swimming with charming illustrations. Thévenot was said to be entirely unable to swim. That put him in good company, as an ability to swim was not common at the time, and swimming was generally viewed as a skill cultivated only by working-class sailors. Thévenot points out its usefulness to trade and the military, at a time when ships were essential in both spheres. He also observes that everyone - whether a world traveller or a cautious soul who never leaves his hometown - runs the risk of falling into a river or pond, in which case a knowledge of swimming could mean the difference between life and death. Much of the volume is given over to descriptions of various strokes and maneuvers, including dog paddling, treading water, and the breast stroke. Also given here is a history of swimming and bathing since ancient times, an account of attire and paraphernalia, directions for resuscitating a drowning person, and the health benefits of swimming.
