Notes on Artillery. Drawings on Artillery de OLDFIELD, R - 1849

[n.p.], 1849. Two volumes, large 8vo (text) and oblong folio. (xiv), 544 pp. Uniformly bound in contemporary brown half morocco over matching brown cloth sides, gilt lettered to upper boards with the author's name and the titles along with the initials "R.M.A." (presumably the Royal Military Academy), the spine of the text volume with gilt tooled raised bands, gilt lettered to one panel and with date at the foot of the spine, the atlas volume neatly rebacked to style, the bookplate of the Naval and Military Club to the front pastedown featuring their armorial crest. Some minor wear to the bindings, small crack at the head of the upper joint of the text volume, though the binding remains sound. An impressive mid-19th century manuscript treatise on various aspects of artillery, providing a comprehensive description of the weapons and ammunition and the technology used in their manufacture. The text volume commences with a hand drawn title page bearing the student's name and family crest and is followed by an 11 page index of the contents, arranging the work under the broad section headings "Artillery", "Remarks on the Foundry", "Remarks on the Boring Department", "Notes on Proof Department", "Reports on Military Carriages, Notes on Gun Powder", "Laboratory Course" and "List of Works to be Considered on Artillery". The work is embellished by numerous tables and illustrations drawn and coloured by hand. The folio atlas volume contains 40 fine drawings of various sizes, with 25 measuring 20 x 32 cm being predominantly uncoloured, the others variously measuring between 20 x 26 cm and 24 x 45 cm, all but one handcoloured. Richard Oldfield went on to serve in the Royal Artillery in the succeeding decades and eventually gained the rank of Major-General in 1887.