Engraved frontis. port. of Harris, 14 engraved plates (some folding, one with a short tear without loss) & numerous woodcut illus. in the text. Title in red & black. [463] leaves; [386] leaves. Two vols. Folio, cont. panelled calf (extremities a little worn, some browning as is usual with this book), red morocco lettering pieces on spines (Vol. I label recent & sympathetically done). London: 1704-10.

First edition of the first technical encyclopedia in any language and a landmark in the history of technology. “This was the first general scientific encyclopedia, and for it Harris drew upon some of the greatest authorities of the day. In... More

12; 27; 16 folding leaves with erratic foliation. Three parts in one vol. Small 8vo (142 x 193 mm.), orig. decorated covers embellished with mica, new stitching. [Japan]: after 1808; after 1817; & after 1818.

A remarkable discovery, the mock-up for an unpublished illustrated work by Kitao (1739-1820), a master of book illustration, with 16 pages of his exquisite drawings. From this manuscript, we learn a great deal about the creative process leading up to the publication of illustrated books in the mid-Edo period. This work’s religious contents also would have been a departure for Kitao, who was celebrated for his bijin-ga and yakusha-e. We have found no other... More

A total of 26 engravings: frontis. port., ten engraved plates pasted on (four folding, two with the extended portion of the plates replaced in excellent facsimile), four engraved illus. in the text, two engraved plates (one folding), & 9 further engravings following A3. 3 p.l., 1-6 leaves, [leaf 7, which contains four engraved images marked A-D, as in early issues, has been cut up & the images have been pasted on the blank versos of A8, B1, B2, & B3], [8]-10 numbered leaves, 11-24, 24-29, 29-49, 48-78 (all sequences with frequent mispaginations), [4], 1-5, [28], 16 pp. Small 8vo, orig... More

One folding engraved plate. [6] pp. Small 4to, attractive modern marbled boards, leather lettering-piece on spine. Augsburg: D. Francken, 1610.

First edition and very rare. Faulhaber (1580-1635), a teacher of mathematics at Ulm and a friend of Kepler, made his most lasting accomplishments in the dissemination and explanation of the logarithmic method of calculation. One of Faulhaber’s school’s most famous pupils was Descartes, who studied there in 1620 (see William R. Shea’s The Magic of Numbers and Motion. The Scientific Career of René Descartes, pp. 102-07).

This is Faulhaber’s second book and caused him considerable problems with the city’s municipal council, as it was published without the permission of the office responsible for supervision of the schools. This book describes a surveying instrument invented by Daniel Speckle in the Netherlands. The fine plate depicts the semicircular instrument, which is divided into 220 parts. More

16 p.l., 74 leaves. Folio, later vellum-backed boards (foot of spine defective, occasional light soiling & dampstaining). Basel: H. Petri, 1529.

First edition of the two texts together. The De Temporum Ratione is a significant book in several ways. Most notably, “this book helped to establish the custom of counting years from the birth of Christ. When we say that Queen Elizabeth II was born in 1926 (not ‘in the 16th year of the reign of George V,’ or ‘in the year 2678 after the foundation of Rome,’ or in the ‘2nd year of the 481st Olympiad’), we are indebted to the Venerable... More

Japan: ca. 1818-30.

An excellent example of a woodblock for the production of prints for a mamehan shunga, small-format erotic prints in the form of cards typically measuring 90 x 120 mm. The production of these shunga thrived in the years 1818-30. Issued in sets of twelve, they were printed in large runs and very popular. About 1500 mamehan shunga are known to have been issued. They were often carried tucked into the breast section of kimono robes.

The obverse side of our woodblock is carved with the basic outline of four images for these cards; the sheet of printed paper, after further... More

19 folding engraved plates, maps, & views (one is hand-colored). xvi, 236 pp., one leaf of errata; iv, [2], 190 pp., one leaf of errata; x, 163, [1] pp. Three vols. in two. 8vo, orig. red sheep maroquiné [Vol. II, Vol. I more “orangey”], sides ruled in gilt, flat spines gilt, a.e.g. Nuremberg: J.A. Stein, 1833.

First edition of this history of the major battles and sieges in which the Royal Bavarian Second Army Corps took a role. They include those at Cham, Donauwörth, Ingolstadt, Lauingen, Memmingen, Neuburg, Nördlingen, Regensburg, Straubing, and Wülzburg.

The handsomely engraved plates depict plans and maps of cities and regions. The battles range from the 16th century up through the Napoleonic period. More

Woodcut frontis. 132 (incl. frontis.), iv pp. 12mo, fine modern black morocco, elaborately panelled in gilt, flat spine & inner dentelles gilt, a.e.g. London: Printed for J. Bew, 1781.

“Eighth edition, corrected, and improved with an entire new set of cutts.” First published in 1722, this is the most popular English conjuring book of the 18th century; more than twenty printings have been identified, and no doubt others have failed to survive. The text is heavily dependent on Reginald Scot’s Discovery of Witchcraft (1584), and on subsequent derivative works, but the language has of course been adapted for a more modern readership. More

Woodcut vignette of an obelisk on title. Title & tables printed in red & black. [23] pp. 4to, attractive antique panelled calf (smallish stamp very carefully bleached from verso of title). Leipzig: W. Gunter, 1551.

First edition of a great rarity; this epoch-making book contains “the first table to give all six trigonometric functions, including the first extensive table of tangents and the first printed table of secants.”–D.S.B., XI, p. 397. These were the first great trigonometric tables ever issued; J.W.L. Glaisher described Rheticus as “by far the greatest computer of pure trigonometrical tables, whose work has never been superseded.” More

One large folding engraved plate. xii, 50 pp. 8vo, cont. half-calf & marbled boards (bound with six other works, see below), flat spine gilt, red morocco lettering-piece on spine (lettered “Tracts Technical”). Frankfurt am Main: Varrentrapp Sohn & Wenner, 1786.

First edition of one of the greatest rarities in the literature concerning the history of computers; this work describes the first difference engine, invented well before the time of Charles Babbage, who conceived it nearly 40 years later. WorldCat locates no copy in North America. This is a wonderful association copy and comes from the library of James Watt (1713-1819), engineer, scientist, and developer... More

3 p.l., 16, [2], 153, [2] pp. 12mo, cont. calf, spine blackened at the time of binding & lettered in gilt. London: Printed by J.M. for G. Sawbridge, 1678.

An absolutely lovely copy from the library of William Constable (all his books are gorgeous) and Harrison D. Horblit, with their bookplates. This is a later edition, which first appeared in 1667.

William Leybourn (1626-1716), was one of the most influential mathematicians/surveyors of his day. This book is a theoretical guide to a logarithmic rule. It “begins with a description of the standard carpenter’s ruler and how it can be used to measure stone, timber and board-measure... More

24 folding woodcut plates & numerous woodcuts in the text of Part I. 12 p.l. (first leaf a blank), 316 pp., one leaf of errata; 205 leaves (incl. added title with woodcut, final three leaves blank). Two parts in one vol. Small 8vo, cont. vellum (carefully rebacked in vellum, later endpapers). Rome: A. Tinassi, 1679.

First edition, presentation copy, with an “Ex dono Auctoris” inscription on front endpaper to an unidentified recipient (in the recipient’s hand). “The Tariffa, perhaps the rarest of all Kircher’s works and his least characteristic, is entirely mathematical. It treats primarily geometrical figures and simple trigonometry. The work is organized in... More