The Book “Architecture militaire, ou, L’art de fortifier ; qui enseigne d’une manière courte & facile la construction de toutes sortes de fortifications régulières et irrégulières; deux nouveaux systêmes pour construire, avec beaucoup moins de dépense, des places d’une défense plus longue et plus avantageuse que celles qui sont fortifiées suivant le systême de Mr. le maréchal de Vauban; et leurs attaques pour en connoître la défense; la construction des chemins-couverts sur toutes sortes de terrains; avec les devis nécessaires pour celle des fortifications; et l’art de dessiner et de laver les plans; démontré dans quarante planches en taille douce ; On y a joint un traité de l’art de la guerre“ by Louis de Cormontaigne is divided into volumes, chapters, subchapters and parts. Each paragraph has a descriptive title or is numbered accordingly to a part. Every paragraph heading is centered on the page. The hierarchy between chapters, subchapters or parts is represented by utilizing different fonts or font-styles for the headings. Occasionally, there are horizontally orientated ornamentations that act as dividers for chapters.
All the schematic drawings and plans can be found at the back of the book. They are numbered and get referenced in the text. The illustrations are foldout spreads and can be unfolded for further inspection.
Since text and imagery is completely separated from the text, the images do not compete with text for space on a page.
By putting the images to the back of the book, the author was able to keep the size, detail and resolution in his analytical drawings. Referencing the images in the text, therefore, was more of a consequence to a necessity. Considering the size of the book and the placement and detail of the imagery I would argue that it is an academic study. It is meant to be read, learnt, mastered and then applied. It should be valued and protected instead of brought to a war zone.