JOHANN BERNHARD SCHEITHER: NOVISSIMA PRAXIS MILITARIS ODER NEU-VERMEHRTE UND EXCOLIRTE FORTIFICATION... BELAGERUNG DER VORTREFFLICHFTEN BELTBERUHMTEN BESTUNG CANDIA. BRAUNSCHWEIG 1672 FIRST EDITION ROYAL FOLIO, contemporary full vellum with fine gilded decoration on covers, a luxurious binding, text and plates clean and bright, edges gold, complete:engraved frontis, title [4],120p., and 25 big plates with 40 engravings (maps and plans), overall in almost fine condition, a lovely copy. Scheither was a German Military Engineer who served in the Venetian army in Greece for many years in the 1660s and took active part in the last phase of the siege of Iraklio (Candia) in 1666-1669. His duties were highly technical and incredible dangerous. He was not just a designer, he was frontline specialist in subterranean warfare and fought bravely. He produced detailed maps and most of the plates of this book are basically the lessons he learned in Candia. He served earlier in other fortified places in Greece and produced concrete maps of them. The book contain, outside the main Cretan section, chapters with descriptions of Corfu, Cephalonia, Zakinthos and Kithira islands where he spent time. The extremely accurate maps of many Greek places, particularly of Crete (Iraklio, Iraklio port, Suda, Spinalonga, Gramvousa) and of many other Greek places like Corfou, Zante, Kefalonia and Kithira) are all absent of Zacharakis catalogue. It is obvious that Scheither detailed maps of Greek fortified towns have been produced after his own supervision of the places. After the fall of Crete in 1669, he returned to Germany, one of the plates depict the siege of his own city, Braunschweig, in 1671. The account has been published in his home town, in very small print run and in Vienna, as he was estimated as engineer by the Emperor. A very valuable account of Greek places, coupled with early accurate maps from someone who served in Greece for many years in the middle of 17th century. Rare