Engraved vignette on title & four folding engraved plates. 2 p.l., xxvi, [2], 186, [2] pp. 4to, cont. marbled calf (extremities a trifle worn, preliminary leaves a bit discolored), spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Paris: David l’aîné, 1743.

First edition, and a fine copy, of d’Alembert’s masterpiece on dynamics; this has become a scarce book on the market. “The Traité de dynamique, which has become the most famous of his scientific works, is significant in many ways. First, it is clear that d’Alembert recognized that a scientific revolution had occurred, and he thought that he was doing the job of... More about Traité de Dynamique, dans lequel les Loix de l’Equilibre & du mouvement des Corps sont...

Woodcut device on title, two folding printed tables, & one folding woodcut plate. 2 p.l., 306, 35, [1] pp. 4to, fine cont. vellum over boards (slightly warped). Basel: impensis Thurnisiorum, Fratrum, 1713.

First edition of “the first systematic attempt to place the theory of probability on a firm basis and is still the foundation of much modern practice in all fields where probability is concerned — insurance, statistics and mathematical heredity tables.”–Printing & the Mind of Man 179.

A very fine and large copy preserved in a box. More about Ars Conjectandi, Opus Posthumum. Accedit Tractatus De Seriebus Infinitis, et Epistola Gallicè...

Woodcut printer’s device on title, Gilbert’s woodcut coat of arms on verso, numerous woodcut diagrams & illus. in the text, & one folding woodcut plate (one fold with a careful repair). 8 p.l. 240 pp. Folio, cont. limp vellum (some occasional spotting, a few unimportant dampstains), ties gone. London: P. Short, 1600.

First edition, and a very fine and fresh copy, of the first major English scientific treatise based on experimental methods of research and the foundation work of magnetism and electrical science. Gilbert uses here for the first time the terms “electricity,” “electric force,” and “electric attraction.”

Book I “deals with the history of magnetism from the earliest legends about the lodestone to the facts and theories known to Gilbert’s contemporaries…In the last chapter of book I, Gilbert introduced his new basic idea which was to explain all terrestrial magnetic phenomena: his postulate that the earth is a giant lodestone and thus had magnetic properties…The remaining five books of the De magnete are concerned with the five magnetic movements: coition, direction, variation, declination, and revolution. Before he began his discussion of coition, however, Gilbert carefully distinguished the attraction due to the amber effect from that caused by the lodestone. This section, chapter 2 of book II, established the study of the amber effect as a discipline separate from that of magnetic phenomena, introduced the vocabulary of electrics, and is the basis for Gilbert’s place in the history of electricity.”–D.S.B., V, p. 397. More about De Magnete, Magneticisque Corporibus, et de Magno magnete tellure; Physiologia nova, plurimis...

Ten folding engraved plates. 31 pp. Large 4to, cont. half-calf & marbled boards, spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. London: Printed by W. Richardson & S. Clark; and sold by J. Nourse & Mess. Mount & Page, 1767.

[bound with]:

MASKELYNE, Nevil. An Account of the Going of Mr. John Harrison’s Watch, at the Royal Observatory, from May 6th, 1766 to March 4th, 1767. Together with the Original Observations and Calculations of the Same…Published by Order of the Commissioners of Longitude. 28, lvi pp. Large 4to. London: W. Richardson & S. Clark, 1767. More about The Principles of Mr. Harrison's Time-Keeper, with Plates of the Same. Published by Order of the...

Folding engraved plate in Vol. IV. Five vols. Large 4to, handsome antique blue morocco-backed marbled boards, flat spines nicely gilt. Paris: J.B.M. Duprat & others, An VII [1798]-1825.

First edition and a complete set with all the supplements. In this monumental and fundamental astronomical work, Laplace -- the "Newton of France" -- codified and developed the theories and achievements of Newton, Euler, d'Alembert, and Lagrange. "Laplace maintained that while all planets revolve round the sun their eccentricities and the inclinations of their orbits to each other will always remain small. He also showed that all these irregularities in movements... More about Traité de Mécanique Céleste.

Folding engraved plate in Vol. IV. Five vols. Large 4to (281 x 200 mm.), cont. polished calf, sides panelled in blind & gilt, spines decorated in blind & gilt, a.e.g.. Paris: J.B.M. Duprat & others, An VII [1798]-1825-1827.

First edition, a magnificent set on large and fine paper, complete set with all the supplements. This is the only large and fine paper set I have ever seen on the market.

In this monumental and fundamental astronomical work, Laplace — the “Newton of France” — codified and developed the theories and achievements of Newton, Euler, d’Alembert, and Lagrange. “Laplace maintained that... More about Traité de Mécanique Céleste.

Nine folding tables (woodcut & letterpress), & numerous woodcut diagrams & tables in the text. 6 p.l., 139 pp., 2 blank leaves. 12mo, cont. mottled calf (very slightly rubbed), panelled in gilt. Leyden: P. Rammasen, 1628.

Third edition; this edition is much rarer than the first edition of 1617. This is the first description of a calculating machine.

"In 1617 Napier's intense concern for the practicalities of computation led him to publish another book, the Rabdologiae, which contains a number of elementary calculating devices, including the rods known as 'Napier's bones.' These rods, which in essence constitute a mechanical multiplication table, had a considerable vogue for many... More about Rabdologiae seu Numerationis per Virgulas libri duo: Cum Appendice de expeditissimo...

One folding engraved plate. iv, 245, [1] pp. 8vo, cont. half-cloth & marbled boards (ends of spine almost invisibly repaired), spine gilt. Berlin: T.H. Riemann, 1827.

First edition of this pioneering work which contains one of the most important discoveries in electrical science — “Ohm’s law” — the basis of the present system of electrical measurement. Ohm discovered the unit of resistance in an electrical current.

“In the field of electrical measurement Ohm was the great pioneer...Ohm’s great contribution — ‘The Galvanic Chain Mathematically Calculated’ — was to measure the rate of current flow and the effects of resistance on the current. ‘Ohm’s law’... More about Die galvanische Kette, mathematisch bearbeitet.

313 leaves (of 314), lacking final blank, otherwise complete, including blank leaves *1 and a1. 37 lines & headline, Roman type. Numerous initials in various sizes supplied in red and blue. 96 fine woodcut illustrations. Folio (310 x 208 mm.), cont. Italian blind-tooled brown calf over wooden boards (upper cover a little defective, crack in the wood of one board repaired), compartments of spine decorated with floral stamps, covers with floral and geometrical borders, metal bosses with engraved flowers in the corners, paper label on spine “L’Arte Militare del Ramusio.” Verona: Boninus de Boninis, 17 February 1483.

First edition in Italian and a fine and large copy of this handsomely illustrated book on the art of war which contains the earliest technical illustrations in a printed book. The first edition, issued in 1472 in Latin, contained only 95 woodcuts. More about De Re Militari. Opera de Facti e Praecepti Militari. Trans. by Paolo Ramusio.