"Bilistein - Essay On The City Of Nancy, Capital Of The Duchy Of Lorraine. Amsterdam, 1762."
BILISTEIN (Charles Léopold Andreu de) - Essay on the city of Nancy, capital of the Duchy of Lorraine. Amsterdam, Chez H. Constapel, 1762; in-12, 92 pp. + a folding plan, 19th century burgundy half-cloth binding, smooth spine, mottled edges. Langlard 542, Noel 1124. Charles Léopold Andreu de Bilistein (1724-1777) was a physiocrat, hydrologist, agronomist, demographer and adventurer. His life was marked by numerous travels (Rhineland-Westphalia, Holland, Prussia, Poland, Russia, France) and meetings (Casanova). Commercial advisor to Catherine II, he was probably assassinated. His ideas led him to suggest to the king the development of the city of Nancy (1778). In France, Russia and Prussia, the sovereigns built the canals imagined by him.