Numerous woodcuts in the text. Much Greek printing. 5 p.l., liii, 168 pp. 8vo, cont. panelled calf, remains of label on spine. Oxford: Sheldonian Theatre, 1706.

First edition of Halley’s translation of Apollonius’s “cutting off a ratio” from an Arabic manuscript. This text of Apollonius, like Books V-VII of the Conics, survives only in Arabic, and in this case the Arabic remains unpublished.

“Much of Halley’s scholarship was exercised upon the works of Apollonius of Perga, one of the greatest mathematicians of antiquity, and indeed of all time, who flourished in the latter part of the third century B.C. One... More

2 p.l., xxiv, 171 pp. 8vo, cont. red morocco (a few minor defects to extremities), triple gilt fillet round sides, arms in gilt on each cover of the dauphin Louis de France (1729-65), son of Louis XV, spine richly gilt, a.e.g. Paris: G. Martin, 1759.

The very uncommon sale catalogue of the library of La Vigne de Frécheville (1695-1758), first doctor to Queen Marie Leszczynska, wife of King Louis XV, and physician to Maria Josepha, second wife of the dauphin Louis de France. This copy bears the arms of the dauphin, Marie Lezsczynska’s son, and the father of three kings... More

Engraved frontis. [72] (incl. frontis.), 1048, [285] pp. Thick 8vo, cont. grey paste-paper boards (one corner a little jammed). Leipzig: Widow of B.C. Fritsch, [Preface dated 1747].

The very rare sale catalogue of the large and important library formed by one of the great collectors of 18th-century Germany. Rink (1670-1746), professor of law and history at the University of Altdorf, was one of the leading international lawyers of his time and an active writer in the areas of his specialties. He formed several outstanding collections, including one of medals (a catalogue of which was published in 1766), a natural history cabinet, and an... More

Woodcut device on title, two folding printed tables, & one folding woodcut plate. Diagrams in the text. 2 p.l., 306, 35, [1] pp. 4to, cont. speckled sheep (upper joint with short crack, bookplate on blank portion of title patched, minor foxing), spine gilt, red leather lettering piece on spine. Basel: impensis Thurnisiorum, Fratrum, 1713.

[bound with]:

BERNOULLI, Nicolaus I. Dissertatio Inauguralis Mathematico-Juridica. De Usu Artis Conjectandi in Jure. 56 pp. 4to. Basel: J.C. Mechel, 1709. More

Engraved frontis. & an allegorical headpiece by J.M. Preisler after Ed. Bouchardon and an added engraved port. of De Boze mounted on the leaf facing frontis. 4 p.l., 332, xxxi pp. Folio, cont. Parisian dark blue morocco, triple gilt fillets round sides, spine gilt in compartments, broad inside gilt borders, doublures & endleaves of yellow watered silk, a.e.g. [Paris: Privately Printed at the Imprimerie Royale], 1745.

A famous private library catalogue, splendidly printed by the Imprimerie Royale, in an edition limited to 12, 25, 36 or 50 copies according to various bibliographers, and only distributed to friends of the collector. It... More

Woodcut title-page, woodcut initials, & printer’s woodcut device on recto of final leaf. 4 p.l., 169 (i.e., 269), [3] pp. Small folio, 17th-cent. vellum over boards (foot of spine a little worn). Venice: V. Valgrisi for N. Bevilacqua, 1559.

First edition, issue with the dedication to Pope Pius IV, of Colombo’s only work, containing his discovery of pulmonary circulation. “This historic breakthrough in his demonstration of the lesser circulation through the lungs secures his place of importance in the line culminating in Harvey’s demonstration of the circulation of the blood sixty-nine years later.”–Heirs of Hippocrates 304.

Colombo was a one-time colleague and friend of Vesalius, whose chair of anatomy and surgery Colombo took over in 1544. He was critical of Vesalius’s illustrations and text of the Fabrica and planned to produce an illustrated anatomy with figures by Michelangelo, but this project was never realized although the two had collaborated on anatomical investigations. Colombo was the first anatomist to criticize Vesalius for errors of anatomy. “In 1559 Colombo published his own unillustrated text, De re anatomica, consisting of fifteen books…Colombo seems to have eschewed the deep Galenic learning shared by other leading contemporary anatomists, but to judge from the De re anatomica he more than compensated for this by his rich experience in dissection, vivisection, autopsy, and the practice of surgery. Quite naturally the Fabrica provided the main framework for his studies, and he made numerous improvements in Vesalius’s descriptions besides reporting a number of new discoveries of his own. The many pathological and anomalous observations he described likewise reflect his wide experience and attention to detail. He also had a strong interest in physiology and seems to have been unsurpassed among his contemporaries in his skill at vivisection… More

Thirty engraved plates (many folding). xxxv, [1], 571 pp.; vi, 656 pp.; vi, 290 pp., 3 p.l., 286, [1] pp. Three vols. 8vo, cont. mottled calf (foot of spine of Vol. III with a bit of wear), triple gilt fillet round sides, spines gilt, a.e.g., red morocco lettering pieces on spines. Paris: Briasson, 1767.

First edition, and a very handsome set, of this lavish and detailed catalogue. “In 1767 Romé was employed, on Sage’s recommendation, to draw up a catalogue of the curiosities that had been collected by Pedro Francisco Davila, who wished to sell his cabinet of natural history before returning to Peru. The... More

London & Paris: 1810-22.

A rather wonderful collection of five of Dibdin’s writings, including one — item 3 — unknown to Jackson and clearly not seen by Windle and Pippin. More

Woodcut port. of the author on title. 6 p.l., 422 (i.e. 316), [6] pp. 12mo, mid-18th-cent. dark olive morocco (minor & mostly marginal dampstaining), triple gilt fillet round sides with a gilt fleuron in each corner, flat spine gilt, a.e.g. Rouen: J. Besongne, 1603.

First edition and quite uncommon. Duval (ca. 1555-ca. 1615), a local physician and professor of medicine, wrote several other interesting medical books including one on hermaphroditism. In the present work, Duval surveys the springs of Rouen and the nearby surrounding towns. For each spring, the author describes regimens of bathing and drinking the waters, medical benefits for... More

Two double-page plates & 80 engravings in the text. 8 p.l., 196, [16] pp. Folio, orig. carta rustica (covers a little soiled & spotted, first few leaves a little dampstained in outer lower corner). Rome: G.F. Buagni, 1696.

First edition and a fine fresh copy of this finely illustrated work on baroque hydraulics. Fontana (1638-1714), was the most important Roman architect of his generation.

This book “emerges from an actual design problem. The practical source for this theoretical work was the project for the raising of the water level of Lake Bracciano, necessary since the second fountain in Saint Peter’s square, built by Bernini under... More

Illus. in the text (Vol. 6 has 13 full-page illus.). Six vols. 8vo, modern wrappers (first leaf of Vol. IV with small defect obscuring one or two characters, Vol. VI with two natural paper flaws touching a few characters of text), new stitching. [China]: two Prefaces dated 1644.

First edition of this influential Chinese ophthalmological work, which records 108 types of eye diseases and has more than 300 prescriptions as well as illustrations and plentiful data. The book discusses medical records of ophthalmology and the theory of five orbiculi (illustrated in the first volume), the eight regions of the whites of the eyes... More

Photographic album, stamped on upper cover “Kembs,” containing 40 fine black & white photographs, each measuring 163 x 218 mm. & each mounted on thick board, all with printed explanatory descriptions above & below. Oblong small folio (250 x 335 mm.), orig. half-cloth & marbled boards, sewn. Photographs dated between April 1929 and October 1933.

The construction of the “Grand Canal d’Alsace,” which channeled the hitherto unnavigable Upper Rhine River, was one of the most important civil engineering projects in France of the last century. About 50 kilometers long and running between Kembs (just below Basel) and Vogelgrun, it permits the navigation of ships and barges between Basel (a city which... More