A Look at Life in Other Times from Justin Croft Antiquarian Books

Item 4 consists of a collection of 39 Billets de Logement, literally, tickets for lodging, dating from 1678-1880. These “billets,” issued by local mayors, ordered the billeting of soldiers in private homes in France. This practice was widely used in France, particularly during Napoleon's time, as means of housing soldiers. It is unlikely this practice is liked very much anywhere, but Americans in particular disliked its use by the British in the days running up to the Revolutionary War. They not only disliked the practice, but the British themselves. As a result, the Bill of Rights provides protection against the quartering of soldiers in private homes. £500 (US $800).

Item 42 includes a patented design for an automobile from long before cars as we know them were invented – 1827. The book is titled The Aeropleustic Art, or Navigation in the Air, by the use of Kites, or Bouyant Sales. Author George Pocock envisioned kites and sails being used as a power source for various purposes, but the most notable was a horseless carriage, to be pulled by a kite. I'm not sure what was supposed to happen if you weren't traveling in the same direction as the wind. £2,000 (US $3,200).

Justin Croft Antiquarian Books may be reached at +44 1795 591111 or justin@justincroft.com.