Engraved frontis. & woodcut device on title. 5 p.l. (incl. frontis.), 111 pp. 12mo, cont. mottled calf (joints repaired & a bit worn), spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece. [Paris]: 1742.

First edition. The book was written in response to the Marquise du Châtelet’s request to further her studies in the sciences and Newtonian philosophy.

Maupertuis “devoted most of the book to a clear summary of the current state of knowledge about comets, including an overview of the dynamics of the Newtonian solar system and Halley’s heroic calculations of cometary orbits. It evolved into a set piece on the analytical... More