[TORCHET DE BOISMÊLÉ (Jean-Baptiste). Histoire générale de la marine, contenant Son origine chez tous les Peuples du monde, ses progrès, son état actuel, & les Expéditions Maritimes anciennes & modernes. Paris : Pierre Prault, Antoine Boudet, 1744 (Tome 1) ; Paris : Antoine Boudet, 1746 (tome 2) ; Amsterdam, Paris : Antoine Boudet, 1758 (tome 3). - 3 volumes in-4, granite calf, triple cold fillet framing the covers, ornate ribbed spines, red edges (period binding). "First edition dedicated to the Count of Maurepas, of what is considered the first history of the navy published in France. This work is attributed, according to Barbier, to the work of lawyer Jean-Baptiste Torchet de Boismêlé (16..-17..), in collaboration with Capucin Théodore de Blois (16..-1760) and lawyer Charles Antoine Bourdot de Richebourg (1665-1735). The title of volume 2 reads: "Sur des Mémoires rédigés par M. de Boismêlé". The first volume, published in 1744, is devoted to the ancient navy, covering the first peoples of the Earth, the first monarchies, the Greeks, the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Eastern emperors, the Turks, the Crusades, as well as the Venetians and Genoese. The second volume, published in 1746, deals with the "seven nations of Europe": Spain, Portugal, Holland, England, Denmark, Sweden and France. Finally, the last volume presents a continuation of the history of the French navy from 1690 to 1715, followed by a treatise on "Ancient and modern naval architecture, and the progress of navigation", the "Code des armées navales ou recueil des édits, déclarations, ordonnances et règlements concernant la marine du roi" under the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XV, and a "Table chronologique des édits, déclarations, ordonnances et arrêts" included in the collection. The illustrations include two frontispieces, two title vignettes, six magnificent bands, six initials and a folding plate. In addition, at the end of the third volume, there are 21 fold-out hors texte tables. A good copy in contemporary binding. A butterfly has been glued under the first headband of the second volume, on page 1, stating: "Vue de Cartagêne en Amérique assiegée par la flotte angloise." Bindings skilfully restored, snags and tears to headpieces. Wormholes in the inner margin of pages 387 to 612 in the first volume. A few rare foxed leaves."