Frankfurt: Paul Jacobi, 1616. First edition. 4to. Title-page with engraved border, and illustrated with 19 double-page engravings depicting soldier formations and munitions. Later full vellum; hinges reinforced with archival tape; toning, soiling, minor spotting throughout; marginal loss to p. 80; loss to bottom corner p. 102, partially affecting text. Cockle 622

First edition of one of the earliest military manuals printed in Europe. Johann Jacobi von Wallhausen was a German soldier and writer who began his military career during the Eighty Years War under the command of Maurice, Prince of Orange, and later joined the militia of Danzig as a captain. In 1616, he was appointed by Count John VII of Nassau-Siegen to head up the newly established Kriegsschule, widely acknowledged as the first military academy in the world. The Kriegsschule existed for only a short time, as von Wallhausen's departure following a disagreement with John VII, and the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War, in the same year, led to its closure, in 1617.

Exceedingly rare. We can locate only one institutional copy in the United States, at Harvard Library.