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(Potsdam, 1783-85). 4to. (36 x 29 cm.). 4 portfolios in hcalf with ties. Gilt titlelabels on upper boards. Containing maps to all 4 campaigns. 64 (of 70 ?) folded maps in folio, partly handcoloured. Occasionally faint scattered brownspots, but generally clean.

Paris, Crochard, 1821. Contemp. hcloth. Gilt lettering to spine. Weak crack in fronthinge (but still firm). In: "Annales de Chimie et de Physique, Redigées par MM. Gay-Lussac et Arago". 448 pp., 1 folded plate. Some browning to htitle, title-page and last leaf, otherwise clean. Fresnel's papers: pp. 102-111, 167-196, 312-315 a. 393-403. Biot, Arago, Ampee: pp. 80-102, 225-258 a. 258-273. First printing of these milestone papers in which Fresnel finally established the transversal nature of lightwaves. The volume also having the notable rapports and notes by Arago, Biot, Ampere exhibiting the famous controversy over the subject."This concept of transverse waves met with the greatest hostility from the scientists of the day, who could not imagine an extremely fluid and rarified ether which at the same time possessed the mechanical properties of a rigid body. Even Arago admitted that he could not follow the exuberant engineer in his ideas. But Fresnel was convinced that at last he had the key to many mysteries, and with his model of waves he gave a full clarification of the phenomena of polarization. With insuperable precision he explained a long series of extremely complicated experiments, such as those of chromatic polarization that Arago himself had discovered by chance in 1811, and which the followers of Newton could not explain in spite of all their efforts. Following this line Fresnel reached the synthesis which is his masterpiece....we must recall the final interpretation that he gave of the famous phenomenon of partial reflection by transparent surfaces, that simple phenomenon which until then had puzzled Grimaldi, Newton, and Huygens, and which in Malus's experiments had unexpectedly acquired a special importencee as it had been compared to the great mystery of double refraction."(Ronchi "The Nature of Light", p. 255 ff.).

Leipzig, Grosse & Gleditsch, 1697. 4to. No wrappers. In: "Acta Eruditorum Anno MDCXCVII", No V, May-issue. Pp. 193-240 (entire issue offered). With titlepage to the volume 1697. Leibniz: pp. 201-205. Johann Bernoulli: pp. 206-211. Jacob Bernoulli: pp. 211-214. Newton: pp. 223-224. As usual, some leaves with browning. First appearance of the famous issue of Acta Eruditorum in which the 4 solutions by the 4 most eminent mathematicians at the time, were printed together. There were in all 5 solutions to the posed problem, and Newton's solution was first printed in the Philosophical Transactions (January 1697) and reprinted here. The solution proposed by L'Hopital, not printed here, was not published until 1988.The brachistochrone problem was posed by Johann Bernoulli in Acta Eruditorum in June 1696. He introduced the problem as follows: "I, Johann Bernoulli, address the most brilliant mathematicians in the world. Nothing is more attractive to intelligent people than an honest, challenging problem, whose possible solution will bestow fame and remain as a lasting monument. Following the example set by Pascal, Fermat, etc., I hope to gain the gratitude of the whole scientific community by placing before the finest mathematicians of our time a problem which will test their methods and the strength of their intellect. If someone communicates to me the solution of the proposed problem, I shall publicly declare him worthy of praise." Johann Bernoulli and Leibniz deliberately tempted Newton with this problem. It is not surprising, given the dispute over the calculus, that Johann Bernoulli had included these words in his challenge:- ...."there are fewer who are likely to solve our excellent problems, aye, fewer even among the very mathematicians who boast that [they]... have wonderfully extended its bounds by means of the golden theorems which (they thought) were known to no one, but which in fact had long previously been published by others."According to Newton's biographer Conduitt, he solved the problem in an evening after returning home from the Royal Mint. Newton: ... "in the midst of the hurry of the great recoinage, did not come home till four (in the afternoon) from the Tower very much tired, but did not sleep till he had solved it, which was by four in the morning."Newton send his solution to his friend Charles Montague and Montague published anonymously in the Transactions. Newton's solution, presented here in the Acta, is also anonymous. The episode did not please Newton, as he later wrote: "I do not love to be dunned [pestered] and teased by foreigners about mathematical things ..." After the competition Johann Bernoulli said ".... my elder brother made up the fourth of these (after Leibniz, himself and Newton), that the three great nations, Germany, England and France, each one of their own to unite with myself in such a beautiful search, all finding the same truth."Struik (Edt.) "A Source Book in Mathematics, 1200-1800, pp. 391 ff.

London, Printed for Thomas Rodd (by Richard Taylor), 1832. Small 8vo. Contemp. full calf. 11 raised bands. Gilt compartments. Titlelabel with gilt lettering. Gilt geometrical borders on covers. Inside gilt limeborders. A neat repair to top of spine. A note on inside front free endpaper states that it was bound by Henderson and Bisset, Scottish bookbinders. VI,151 pp. Clean and fine, printed on good paper. With the engraved bookplate of Thomas Maitland Dundrennan and the Danish bibliophile K.F. Plesner. First edition of the famous English translation that appeared anonymously, now known to have been by J. B. Inglis; it followed the edition of 1473, with all its errors and inaccuracies. Bury (1287-1345) was a bibliophile. He was a patron of learning and one of the first English collectors of books. He is chiefly remembered for his Philobiblon, written to inculcate in the clergy the pursuit of learning and the love of books. The "Philobiblon" is considered the earliest book to discuss librarianship in-depth.

Portland, Jenks & Shirley, 1804. 8vo. In contemporary full calf with gilt lettering to spine. Extremities with wear, upper and lower part of spine missing and back board partly detached. Previous owner's name to front free end-paper. Internally with occassional soiling. (2 blank leaves), 148, (2), (3 blank leaves) pp. Rare first edition of Turner's work on double-entry bookkeeping constituting one of the earliest work on bookkeeping printed in America (The earliest being from 1789)"It is singular that this little work should have been suffered to sink into oblivion. It contains much new and useful information; it is written with clearness and precision, and better adapted to the purposs of instruction than any similar work which have appeared in the United States since 1800. The modern practice of double entry is clearly exemplified by Turner, and a very trifling revision would render [the present work] one of best elementary treatises on merchants accounts extant" (Foster, The Origin and Progress of Book-keeping).

London, Richard Lowndes, 1649. 8vo. In contemporary full calf. Small paper-label pasted on to top of spine. Wear to extremities, parts of leather on front board worn off. Top of spine with tear. Inner hinges split, but bookblock firmly attached. Internally with light marginal miscolouring, but generally nice and clean. (6), 474 pp. Cartwright's rare work containing 36 of his sermons. Christopher Cartwright (1602–1658) was an English clergyman, also known as a Hebraist.

Folio. Cont. hcalf. Richly gilt back. Back worn and first hinge detached. Corners bumped. With the General titlepage dated 1820. No seperate titles to the 2 parts. Containing 64 fine engraved views on 54 plates, printed on mounted indiapaper. The text on good paper. Textlvs. clean, plates ocassionally with some foxing, nearly all marginal. Fine steel-engravings by Frederick Nash.

Freyberg, Barthelischen Schriften, 1775-86. 4to. Bound in 6 fine uniform contemp. full calf. raised bands. Gilt spines. tome-and titlelabels with gilt lettering. Gilt borders on covers. Stamp on title-pages. 6 general titles, each with engraved vignette and parttitles. Having all 48 large folded engraved maps and plans with positions handcoloured. Clean and fine, printed on good, thick paper. First edition. The 6 parts, comprising the works which have the following separate titles: 1. Das Treffen bey Maxen..2. Der Feldzug der Kayserlich=Russischen und Königlich Preussischen Völker, im Jahre 1758...3. Der Feldzug...Im Jahre 1761, nebst Untersuchung der Feldbefestigungs=Kunst...4. Die drey Belagerungen und Londonsche Ersteigung der Festung Schweidnitz, in den Feldzügen von 1757. bis 1762..5. Der Feldzug...des Herzogs von Würtemberg und Generalleutnamts von Platen in Pommern im Jahre 1761...6. Fortsetzung der Untersuchung der Feldbefestungs=Kunst...

London, Richard Phillips, 1806. 8vo. Uncut in contemporary (original?) blank wrappers. Previous owner's name to title-page and a few tears to wrapper, otherwise a very fine and unsophisticated copy. (4)XXIII, (1), 270 pp. + Frontispiece titled "The Graphic Muse" by William Blake after Joshua Reynolds. Rare first edition of this work on the cultivation and state of the art of design in England.

Paris, Crochard, 1817 a. 1819. Bound in one contemp hcloth (vol. 7) and 1 issue without wrappers. In: "Annales de Chimie et de Physique, Par MM. Gay-Lussac et Arago.", Vol. 7 and vol. 10, Cahier 4. - 448 pp. a. 2 engraved plates (entire vol. 7 offered) + pp. 337-443 a. 2 engraved plate (entire issue offered, Cahier 4 of vol. 10 with htitle to the vol.). Dulon & Petit's papers: pp. 113-154, pp. 225-264, pp. 337-367 and Vol. X, pp. 395-413. First edition of these 4 groundbreaking papers with the first appearance in print of THE LAW OF THE CONSTANCY OF ATOMIC HEAT, i.e. the specific heat multiplied by the atomic weight. The insight had far reaching implications as it showed a new way to Dalton's atomic theory. "In 1815 Dulong's famous collaboration with the mathematical physicist Alexis Therese Petit began; it produced three importent memoirs on heat." (the papers offered here). The 2 first was awarded the price of the Academy in 1818 and was leading up to the last paper in which they formulted the "Law of the Constancy of product of atomic weight and specific heat""They (Dulang and Petit) were concerned with the specific heats of elements; but if these elements really existed as atoms, it seemed possible that there might be a connection between trhe weight of the atom and the amount of heat aquired to raise the temperature of a given weight of that element by a certain amount." (DSB). "One of his (Dulong) most importent researches was made in collaboration with Alexis Thérese Petit (1791-1820), with whom he announced the law that the product of atomic weight and specific heat is constant (1819). It rendered a distinct service in fixing atomic weights, especially when these were in question, and enabled Berzelius and later Cannizzaro to arrive at correct atomic weights and the correct number of atoms in molecules." (Leicester & Klickstein, A source Book in Chemistry 1400-1900, p. 273). Parkinson, Breakthroughs (1819).

Amsterdam, Marc-Michel Ray, 1761. 4to. Bound in one contemp. full mottled calf. Titlelabel with gilt lettering. Engraved titlevignette. XXVIII,369,(1);(2),183,(1) pp., 18 large folded engraved plates. A large clean, wide-margined, copy. Printed on good paper. Simultaneously published in Geneve and Amsterdam. - Sloos, Warfare and the Age of Printing,5054.

Kbhvn., 1835-45. Stor Tvær-8vo. Indbundet i 9 samt ensartede hldrbd. med rig rygforgyldning. Rygge lidt slidte, permer med brugsspor. Indeholder alle 419 stålstukne plancher med beskrivende tekst. her og der, som altid, med lidt brunpletter og enkelte skjolder. Plancherne gennemgående i god stand. Komplet sæt af den danske udgave med Oehlenschlägers tekstoversættelse.

Leipzig, Schwickert, 1825-45. 8vo. Bound in 22 contemp. hcalf. Richly gilt spines with gilt lettering. A small paperlabel pasted on lower compartments of spines. Spines on a few volumes a bit rubbed. Stamp on title-pages. Scattered brownspots and occasionnaly light foxing. With 6 folded engraved maps and 278 folded engraved plates. "Muncke also collaborated with Brandes, Gmelin, Horner, Pfaff, and Littrow in preparing the edition of Johann Gehler’s Physikalisches Wörterbuch pub- lished in Leipzig in eleven volumes (1825-1845). This work constitutes one of the best records of the state of the natural sciences in the first quarter of the nineteenth century; Muncke’s contribution consists of descriptions of individual physical subjects and an excellent, objective general discussion of current physical theories and knowledge."(DSB).Poggendorff II, 238.

Kjøvenhavn [Copenhagen], Brummers Forlag, 1819. 8vo. In the fragile and rare original engraved paper-binding with wear and bumping to capitals and corners, but overall fine. Spine a bit soiled and some minor ink-spotting to front board. Internally some occasional brownspotting, but overall nice and clean. Half-title, engraved title-page, (being pp. 1-4), XL pp. + pp. (5) - 294 + 1 leaf errata + 9 engraved plates (numbered I-IX, though the title-page states "eight engraved plates") + 5 folded tables (in all there are 7 tables that are numbered, namely A(a-c)-E, of which Ab+c,C,D,E are folded, Aa-B are in the text and are 3/4 and almost full-page respectively. Table D has a tear, no loss).Printed on good, heavy paper. Orig. koberstukket kartonnage, hvor ryggen dog er slidt. Hjørner stødte. Kobberstukket titelblad, XL,294, pp. + 1 blad errata + talrige foldetabeller og 9 kobberstukne foldeplancher. Trykt på skrivepapir, men her og der noget brunplettet. The rare first printing of this highly important work of cryptography, which is the very first work to correctly describe Vigenère's cipher. "Lindenfels, so far as I can ascertain, is the only writer who accurately presents both the tables and the directions of Vigenère." (Charles J. Mendelsohn, 1940). The present work also constitutes the first Danish cryptographical work."All European countries have a larger or smaller collection of crytographical works in their languages, whereas we in Denmark, as far as the author is aware, do not own a single letter thereof in the mother tongue. The author has therefore endeavoured, also in a scientific sense, not to be entirely unworthy in filling out this lacuna in the national literature. Both of these purposes unite in the "pium desiderum": to enable our young officials - in particular the military - to match also in this respect those of our neighbouring nations. It is necessary in times such as ours, not to lag behind foreigners, especially in these things, if we do not wish at all hours to succumb to them." (from the "Prereminder" - translated from Danish in Franksen). "In 1918, Charles J. Mendelsohn was made a captain in the Military Intelligence Division of the General Staff of the U.S. Army, in charge of decipherment of German codes. A classic scholar and faculty member of the history department in the College of the City of New York, he was launched by his experience into a lifelong study of historical ciphers and their originators. Among other things, this research resulted in two fundamental papers on Cardano and de Vigenère, respectively... With this background in mind we are hard put to find a more authoritative source on the history of the Vigenère cipher than the article by Mendelsohn. It is therefore noteworthy to read in Mendelsohn's abstract, that "In all the literature of cipher, I know of only one writer who has correctly described Vigenère's cipher, and that was well over one hundred years ago." In the body of the article Mendelsohn, referring to "I.B. Lindenfels, Den hemmelige Skrivekonst (Copenhagen, 1819)", expands on this remark... (see first quotation above). On this authority I have often relied on Lindenfels' work for factual information in past discussions. Yet, I have withheld his story which, lying dormant in the Danish Army Archives and some contemporary bibliographical accounts, is perhaps as fascinating as the topic he describes... Its title page was engraved, so Lindenfels proudly tells us, together with nine other illustrations by a young artist, H.C. Klingsey, employed as a map-maker by the Danish navy. It reveals that Lindenfels was a major of the artillery and a teacher of the Royal Pageans (cadets training for general staff and military engineering), at the Land Cadet Academy (infantry and horse), and at the Artillery Cadet Institute... In the "prereminder", Lindenfels assures the reader that he has done everything in his power to make the book as entertaining as possible. Simultaneously, however, he emphasizes that his choice of motto "Ei blot til lyst" (not only for pleasure) on the title-page, is made on purpose (see quotation from the Prereminder above)..." (Franksen, pp. 215-17).Lindenfels does not invent or introduce an entirely new cipher, he does, however, in the present work, introduce a new practice that is to replace the simple substitution cipher or traditional nomenclature, and in fact he becomes the first to describe the seminal Vigenère cipher correctly. The work is divided into three parts, namely Simple substitution ciphers and nomenclatures; the Vigenère cipher; and a Supplement, all of about the same length. The supplement not only describes the history of ciphers and codes but also covers sign languages, both of thieves and deaf and mutes. Being the first such work in the Danish language, of course it arose some curiosity and excitement. It is evident from the subscription list that Kind Fredrik VI himself purchased 10 copies alone. For curiosity it can be mentioned that Lindenfels here mentions "the newest galvanic and electric discoveries" and "the incredible bordering progress in physics and chemistry", referring to Ørsted and inferring how Ørsted gradually worked towards his discovery of electromagnetism in 1820, about a year after Lindenfels had published his work. For a long and thorough description of the work and of Lindenfels, see:Franksen, Mr. Babbage's Secret. The Tale of a Cypher - and APL. (IBM).

Tvær-8vo. Samtidigt helldrbd. med rig rygforgyldning, blindtrykt ramme på permer og Frederik V's store monogram i guld på begge permer. Helt guldsnit. Manuskriptet er en komplet fortegnelse over flådens skine ved året 1765 med detaljerede numeriske angivelser af samtlige fartøjers bestykning, calibrer etc..I slutningen er landbatterierne beskrevet ligeledes med deres inventarbeholdning. Sandsynligvis er Ms lavet til kongen som en frisk information om rigets styrke til søs og til lands.

Paris, Guillaumin, 1856. Small8vo. In a nice contemporary full calf binding with gilt lettering and ornamentation to spine and embossed front and back boards. In "Annuaire de L'Economie Politique et de la Statistique", 1856, Trezieme Annee. Entire volume offered. Wear to upper and lower part of spine and internally with light occassional brownspotting. A fine copy. Pp. 555-581. [Entire volume: VIII, 612 pp.]. First edition of Juglar's seminal first paper on commercial crises, fluctuations of prices and discount rates of banks of France, anticipating many of the themes and ideas later to be included in his 'Juglar Cycles'. By shifting focus from theory of crisis to the theory of cycles, Juglar laid much of the foundation for all later Business Cycle Theories: "If anyone can be singled out as first establishing the phenomenon of periodic business cycles as an indisputable fact of economic life, it is Clément Juglar" (Blaug).Juglar first identified economic cycles 7 to 11 years long which was later divided into four distinct stages by Schumpeter: 1, expansion (increase in production and prices, low interest-rates). 2, crisis (stock exchanges crash and multiple bankruptcies of firms occur). 3, recession (drops in prices and in output, high interest-rates). 4, recovery (stocks recover because of the fall in prices and incomes)."Historically, commercial crises are always accompanied by monetary crises Juglar thus analyzed long series of banking statistics (discounts, metallic reserves, circulation of banknotes, deposits), at first only for France and later also for England, the Unites States and to a lesser extent for Prussia and Hamburg, which he compared with the variations in population, the price of corn, import and exports, rents and public revenue. He noted a strict correlation (especially in the variations of discounts and reserves) and that changes go through specific phases, always the same, and are in concordance in the countries where commerce and industry are more developed." (Besomi)"Juglar's analysis of crises is essentially a monetary one - protracted periods of inflation and expansion are brought to an end when the banking system initiates a contraction in the face of unacceptable pressures on its specie reserves. This is very like the story Wicksell was later to tell, but without the sophistication of Wicksellian theory. Subsequent theories of the business cycle, which attributed the process to 'real' causes, were critical of this aspect of Juglar's argument. The observed periodicity of the cycle - of nine to ten years - is commonly known in the applied literature on business cycles as a Juglar cycle". (The new Palgrave).Similar 7 year cycles have been found by Goubert in Beauvais, Parenti in Tuscany, Spooner in Udine and Hauser in Paris.

Randers, Elmenhoff, 1842. 12mo. Nydeligt senere helæderbd.i gl.stil. m. titel i guld på ryg og blindtrykte bordurer på permer (Anker Kyster). Den sjældne originaludgave af en af perlerne i vor litteratur."E Bindstouw" er et i vor littaratur enestaaende Værk, og da man i Blichers Hundredaar skulle vælge et af han novellistiske Arbejder til Udgivelse som Festskrift, faldt Valget som af sig selv paa dette..." (Hansen, Litteraturhist., III: 242)

(København), Tyge Nielsen), 1640. Lille 8vo. Samtidigt helpergamentsbd. Bindet med brugsspor. (24),323,(13) pp. Forsatse fornyet. Lettere brugsspor Komplet eksemplar af en af de tidligste dansk/norske lægebøger. De fleste overlevende eksemplarer er dels ukomplette, dels meget slidte. Eksemplaret er tryk A af udgaven, idet de tre første dele alle har træskårne våben på titlernes bagside (Urne). Den er et nøjagtigt optryk af udgaven fra 1638. En af delene har trykåret 1638. Tyge Nielsøn flyttede 1643 til Norge, og blev herved Norges første bogtrykker. - Thesaurus 741.

(Paris, Gauthier-Villars), 1908, 1909, 1911. 4to. No wrappers. In: "Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de L'Academie des Sciences", Tome 146, No 19. Pp. (951-) 1002. Tome 147, Nos 10, 12 a. 14. Pp. (467-) 482, (507-) 546 a. (579-) 610. Tome 149, Nos 10 a. 13. Pp. (473-) 492 a. (541-) 556. Tome 152, Nos 18 a. 21. Pp. (1133-) 1196 a. (1361-) 1432. (8 entire issues offered). Perrin's papers. pp. 967-70, 477-479, 549-51, 475-476, 530-32, 594-596, 477-479, 549-551, 1165-1168 a. 1380-82. Clean and fine. First appearance of these 8 papers constituting Perrin's major work on the Brownian motion and establishing THE REALITY OF THE MOLECULAR-KINETIC VIEW OF MATTER. Perrin's experimental verification of molecular reality and his 'classical' verification of the statistical method was of great importece to the subsequent rise of the quantum revolution with the introduction of quantum mechanics. Perrin's experiments helped to confirm Einstein's analysis of the Brownian movements (1905), and calculated a value for Avogadro's numbers and thereby the size of atoms and molecules.Perrin was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics, 1926 "for his work on discontinuity in the structure of matter, and in particular for his discovery of the equilibrium of sedimentation" "The work for which Perrin is best known is his investigation of Brownian motion, the erratic movements performed by microscopic particles in suspension in a fluid, now interpreted as being caused by the continous, irregular bombardment of the particles by the molecules of the surrounding medium. Perrin thought that collodially suspended particles undergoing Brownian motion would distribute themselves vertically in a definite way at equilibrium. By counting small particles of gum resin suspended in water, Perrin found that their number decreased exponentially with increasing height. He proved that this variation follows from kinetic theory and that from it he could calculate a value for Avogadro's number. Since the size of a water molecule appeared in the equation for the vertical distribution of the brownian motion particles, for the first time the sizes of atoms and molecules could be calculated from actual observations. As henri Poincaré wrote: "The brilliant determination of the number of atom (in a mole) made by Perrin has completed the triumph of atomism.... The atom of the chemists is now a reality.' " (Weber "Pioneers of Science. Nobel Prize Winners in Physics", pp. 80 ff).Parkinson "Breakthroughs", 1908 C a. 1908 P.

Nürnberg, Christoph Riegels, 1697. Folio. Bound in a nice (a bit later, ca. 1740) full calf. Raised bands. Richly gilt compartments. Titlelabel with gilt lettering. Gilt borders on covers. Covers richly blindtooled with a curved decoration of rococco-stamps. Large goldstamped cornerpieces. Edges of covers gilt. a stamp on htitle and title-page.(10),734,(66) pp. Having 1 engraved portrait (Carolus XI), many engraved vignettes. Fine and clean, but WITHOUT THE PLATES. Scarce first German edition of Pufendorf's "De rebus a Carolo Gustavo gestis commentario..Nürnberg, 1696." The writing of this official history of the Swedish wars with Poland and Denmark from 1655 to 1660 was enthrusted by the King Charles XI to Samuel Pufendorf, a German historian and expert on international law.Swedish Books No 38 - Warmholtz: 4840.

Lyon, Seb. Gryphim, 1535. 4to. Bound in a later full calf pastiche-binding in Cambridge-style, with elegant 'mirrors' to boards and blindstamped borders and decorations, spine with five raised bands, forming six compartments. Leather title-label with title in gilt lettering to spine. Spine miscoloured and several stains to boards. Stamp to front free end-paper and title-page. Annotation in contemporary hand to title-page and last leaf with woodcut-device depicting a griffin. Waterstain to inner margin, affecting lower part of first 10 and last 15 leaves. a-z8, A-Z8, AA-BB8, CC10, aa-mm8, nn10. Rare second edition of this Latin Bible Concordance (the first being from 1529) from the printer Sebastian Gryphius. The present work being one of the first to use the griffin mark.

Lancaster, PA, 1957. The complete issue in original blue printed wrappers. A fine copy, with no tears, stamps or fading. First edition of this historic paper. The phenomenon of low-temperature superconductivity was discovered by the Dutch physicist Kamerling Onnes already in 1911. For nearly half a century this peculiar phenomenon remained a mystery. The B(ardeen)C(ooper)S(schrieffer)-theory was first announced in this issue of the Physical Review. The theory turned out to be very successful in explaining in considerable detail the properties of superconductors. The theory also predicted new effects and stimulated an intensive activity in theoretical and experimental research. In 1972 the authors shared the Nobel Prize in Physics "for their jointly developed theory of superconductivity, usually called the BCS-theory". This was Bardeen's second Nobel Prize in Physics (1956 for the co-invention of the transistor) - until today only two scientists have received the prize twice in the same field. The importance of this paper is still today of the greatest magnitude, as it has been one of the most cited articles in the last decade.

Bonn, Friedrich Cohen, 1929. Lex 8vo. Uncut and largely unopened in the orig. printed wrappers. A bit of loss to spine, a crease, some tears, and a bit of (ink?) spotting to front wrapper. XII, 236 pp. First edition, presentation-copy, of one of Heidegger's most important works, which was originally planned to constitute the second part of "Sein und Zeit". With an original handwritten presentation-inscription to title-page: "Mit freundlichem Grüss/ ...[?] Verf." "Kant und das Problem der Metaphysik" is not only one of, if not the, most important readings of Kant's "Critik der Reinen Vernunft" from the 20th century, it is also one of Heidegger's main works and an indispensible work for anyone interested in Heidegger's thought as well as 20th century philosophy in general. Whereas the Neo-Kantian philosophers had understood Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" as an epistemology, Heidegger here presents this all-time main work of philosophy as a foundation of metaphysics. Heidegger understands this metaphysics in its more original form as that fundamental ontology which is the metaphysics of Dasein in "Being and Time"; as such, "Kant and the Problem of Metahysics" is also to be viewed as an inevitable contribution to the understanding of the main work of 20th century continental philosophy, Heidegger's own "Sein und Zeit". "Heidegger's interpretation of Kant remains a challenging way to address the issues that both Kant and Heidegger saw as crucial...In reading ["Kant and the Problem of Metaphysics"] we can struggle with some basic issues of human existence in the company of two great minds" (International Philosophical Quarterly).

London, Academic Press, 1964. 8vo. In the original grey printed wrappers. In "Journal of Theoretical Biology", Volume 7, Number 1, July 1964. Entire issue offered. A very fine and clean copy. Pp. 1-16; Pp. 17-52. [Entire volume: 170, (2) pp.]. First printing of Hamilton's two seminal publications, perhaps the most important in evolutionary biology in the 20th century, on altruism in relation to kin selection. Hamilton is, primarily because of the present publication, widely regarded as being one of the most influential theoretical biologists of the twentieth century. "Hamilton's principal achievement was so thoroughly to revise the language of evolutionary biology that it has become nearly impossible to speak in evolutionary explanations except in terms of the self-interest of the organism or gene." (DSB)Hamilton's rule: k> 1/r, a gene causing an organism to benefit relatives at the expense of its own reproduction will be selected and increase in a population if the benefit to the "altruist" outweighs the discounted relationship, or as Hamilton himself described it: "a gene causing altruistic behavior towards brothers and sisters will be selected only if the behavior and the circumstances are generally such that the gain is more than twice the loss; for half-brothers it must be more than four times the loss; and so on. To put the matter more vividly, an animal acting on this principle would sacrifice its life if it could thereby save more than two brothers, but not for less." (DSB). Due to the complexity and advanced mathematics the paper was rejected twice until it was accepted by the reviewer's an it was not until the mid 1970ies that his theory became widely know and cited: "Hamilton wrote up the theory of inclusive fitness in two versions. One was a lengthy, fully mathematical treatment that unified understanding of a considerable body of case studies of altruistic behaviors that Hamilton drew from the scientific literature, the fruit of his graduate research. The second was a short, mostly verbal abstract of the whole, containing only the mathematical relation of Hamilton's rule and some general, theoretical remarks on its applicability. He met difficulty in publishing both. The first he submitted to the Journal of Theoretical Biology, where it spent considerable time in the reviewing process; ultimately the referee (John Maynard Smith, a mathematical biologist of similar interests) asked that it be split into two parts. After the revisions and splitting called for by the referee for the Journal of Theoretical Biology, that journal published "The Genetical Evolution of Social Behaviour," parts 1 and 2, in 1964. The first part of the paper contained the mathematical arguments culminating in the derivation of Hamilton's rule; its arguments were almost exclusively cast in the language and methodology of modern population genetics. The second part hearkened back in its methodology to Darwin's, as Hamilton used the theory of inclusive fitness to explain a diverse array of social traits recorded in the biological literature, including alarm calling, mutual grooming, the fusion of colony organisms, and postreproductive behavior in cryptic (camouflaged) moth species compared with that of aposematic species (bad-tasting with vivid warning colors). In each case, Hamilton argued that his theory of inclusive fitness could coherently explain the evolution of phenomena that had been disparate in the literature as aspects of a single principle at work, Fisher's fundamental theorem of natural selection, mandating the maximization of favorable genes under selection.Hamilton's influence began to grow among evolutionary biologists as the few who had read and understood the import of his papers worked to bring him from his initial scientific and social isolation into the networks of scientists interested in evolution and behavior. Wilson, for example, invited Hamilton to lecture at Harvard University in 1969, en route to a Smithsonian Institution conference on "Man and Beast" that brought together specialists from various fields to discuss the impact of recent biological work on understandings of human nature"From about 1974, citations of Hamilton's 1964 papers in the scientific literature began an exponential rise, reaching some four thousand total in the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Web of Science database by 2007, making "The Genetical Evolution of Social Behaviour" the most-cited paper ever published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology. Hamilton's principal achievement was so thoroughly to revise the language of evolutionary biology that it has become nearly impossible to speak in evolutionary explanations except in terms of the self-interest of the organism or gene." (DSB)

Franckfurt und Leipzig, Hoffmännischen Buchladen in Nürnberg, 1712 (+) Nürnberg, Conrad Monath, 1717. 4to. In contemporary full vellum with title in contemporary hand to spine. A few dots and mark to extremities and a few annotation to pasted down front end-paper. A very nice copy. (12), 394 pp. + frontispiece and 28 plates; (8), 48 pp. + 11 plates. First German edition of, according to historian of science David M. Knight, "the most famous book devoted to instruments". The work is one of the best of that time on scientific instruments, including the compass of proportion, surveying and astronomical instruments, etc. The short work bound withbound is “written by Doppelmayr and illustrates a number of instruments, which, although claiming to be from Bion’s workshop, do not appear in any of Bion’s French editions. The most inventive are optical-binocular and reflecting telescopes”. (Erwin Tomash). The present work was translated from the French original edition, published in 1709, by J. G. Doppelmayr. Erwin Tomash B161 & B162.