< Back

Wood, Nicholas.
A Practical Treatise on Railroads, and Interior Communication in General.
Publisher: Printed for Knight and Lacey, London;
Date of Publication: 1825
Stock Code: 7806
FIRST EDITION. Octavo, pp. 8 (catalogue), [4], 314. Complete with 6 engraved gate-fold plates as called for; tables within text. Publishers original paper-covered boards with printed paper title label to spine. Four centimetre loss to head of spine, with central vertical crease; joints split but holding (upper board by one cord); boards bruised to corners, surface scuffed & lightly soiled. Title label scuffed and rubbed with small loss to edge. Ownership inscriptions to front paste-down; possibly lacks ffep. A Good copy in the original publishers boards. The important early work on railways by Nicholas Wood, the viewer at Killingworth Colliery and lifelong friend of George Stephenson, and Director of the Newcastle & Berwick Railway. Wood (1795- 1865) was an engineer, founder member and President of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers and was one of the judges at the Rainhill Trials in 1829. In this early and highly influencial work Wood illustrates and analyses the various types of “motive power” including self-acting and steam engine planes, horse power and steam locomotives. The book was quickly reproduced in three more editions through the 1830’s, all of which are sought after. The first printing is however rare, particularly so in this complete and unsophisticated state. £750.00