Search Results

Hamburg, Johann Nan(u)mann, und Stockholm, Gottfried Liebezeit, 1678 u. 1676. 4to. Contemp. full calf. Raised bands. Richly gilt spine. Titlelabel with small tears, gilt lettering. Top of spine neatly repaired. Light wear to foot of spine. Slightly rubbed. Stamps on title-page. (8),236,(64) pp., 1 engraved map (Northpole). Some copies have a map of Nova Zembla in woodcut - it is not in this copy. Catalog der Commerz-Bibliothek in Hamburg mentions only 1 map, likewise Sabin, as here. A bit of lower right corner of title-page, gone. Title-page repaired for a few small holes on verso, loosing a few letters. Light browning, some scattered brownspots. Second edition of Capel's "Vorstellungen des Norden, oder Bericht von einigen Nordländern...", 1675. It deals with - among other things and previous voyages - the possibility of reaching the East Indies by a north passage.Lauridsen II,43 - Sabin, 10736.

[Circa 1870-1880]. A series of 17 unsigned photographs of ancient Greek monuments, temples and artworks, most measuring 25 x 17 cm, some slightly smaller, some slightly larger, all mounted on leaves measuring 30x42 cm. and bound in an exquisite near contemporary (ab. 1900) oblong black half morocco binding with four raised bands, gilt spines, boards with elaborately gilt corners, gilt border and to the middle of front board a gilt vignette, gilt title ("Grekland" i.e. Norwegian for Greece). Housed in an equally elegant half morocco boxes with with gilt spines, marbled edges, and with middle of boards corresponding to those of the binding. The box are also from ab. 1900. The box have a few traces of wear, but all in all, the set is in splendid condition. A fine collection of photographs from Greek, fortraying Greek monuments, temples and artworks.

Paris, January 1927. 8vo. Entire issue present, in the original printed wrappers, uncut. Wrappers a bit soiled, and first leaves of the entire issue with a few tears, far from affecting text, and a brown spot to first few leaves. Otherwise internally fine. Inner hinge weak. Pp. 26 - 39. [Entire volume: 70, (8), (1, -colophon) pp.]. The extremely scarce first printing, in German, of Sartre's third publication, "The Theory of State in modern French Thought". The work appeared simultaneously in German, French, and English, and all three publications are of the greatest scarcity. Contat and Rybalka were unable to find the French edition for the bibliography of Sartre's works and had to do with the English version. They state that the "Revue universitaire internationale" is not to be found anywhere, in no French libraries: "Il nous a été impossible de retrouver l'édition francaise de cette revue qui était publiée à Paris par la Fédération universitaire internationale simultanément en francais, anglais et allemand. Le titre de l'édition francaise est: "Revue universitaire internationale". Elle ne figure au catalogue d'aucune bibliothèque de France." (Contat & Rybalka).The present article is a brilliant and well founded essay of state theory by the 22 year old Sartre, published 16 years before his philosophical breakthrough, "L'Etre et le Néant" from 1943. Sartre was urged by his fellow opinionator Daniel Lagache to write the article. Lagache was the editor of the "Revue Universitaire Internationale", in which the article appeared. "Il s'agit d'une étude brillante et solidement documentée où Sartre, déployant la virtuosité intellectuelle d'un normalien bien entraîné, examine le philosophie du droit de quelques théoriciens francais du droit international, en particulier de Hauriou, de Davy et de Léon Duguit." (Contat & Rybalka).Contat & Rybalka 27/3.

Leipzig, Paul Gotthelf Kummer, 1782. Contemp. boards. Light wear to top and bottom of spine. (12),98 pp. and 1 folded engraved map, divided in 3 sections: 1. Grundriss des Fort St. Philipp. 2. Grundriss der Gegend von Porto Mahon und Fort St. Philipp. 3. Abriss der Festung Gibraltar. A few faint brownspots. The scarce first edition.

London, Taylor & Francis, 1913. 8vo. Original printed wrappers; chipped, backstrip lacks. The whole issue. 200 pp., 2 plates. First edition of Bohr's first work on nuclear physics, published just before his 'On the Constitution of Atoms and Molecules'. During his visit to Manchester Bohr had the chance to get a first hand account of Rutherford's investigations on the penetration of alpha-particles through matter. In order to explain the large-angle scattering of alpha rays, which Rutherford had observed, he proposed his "nuclear" model of the atom in contrast to J.J. Thomson's "plum pudding" model in 1910. Bohr eagerly took up the new model and soon recognized its far-reaching implications. In particular, he pointed out that the nuclear model of the atom implied a sharp separation between the chemical properties, ascribed to the peripherical electrons, and the radioactive properties, which affected the nucleas itself. In this paper the theory of the decrease of velocity of moving electrified particles in passing through matter is given in a form, such that the rate of the decrease in the velocity depends on the frequency of vibration of the electrons in the atoms of the absorbing material. In the conclusion Bohr could state 'that a hydrogen atom contains only 1 electron outside the positively charged nucleas, and that a helium atom only contains 2 electrons outside the nucleas'.Rosenfeld, Bohr Bibliography No. 5. Rosenfeld, Dictionary of Scientific Biography II, pp. 240-41.

København, Godiche, 1777-79. 4to. 3 samt. hellæderbd., ophøjede bind på rygge, rig rygforgyldning. Forgyldte titel- og tomefelter. Kobberstukket portræt af Hofman som frontispiece. 3 store kobberstukne titelvignetter. XX,193;(8),342;(12),401 pp. Rigt illustreret med kobberstukne portrætter, store vignetter, prospekter, våbenskjolde og genealogiske foldetavler. Indvendig frisk, trykt på skrivepapir. Enkelte spredte brunpletter. På forpermernes indersider et kobberstukket våbenskjold, kronet med 2 løver og 3 hundehoveder i skjoldet (?) og bagpermernes indersider stort kobberstukket våbenskjold Adam Comte Lewenhaupt Falckenstein. Første danske udgave, der udkom som en oversættelse af forfatterens "Portraits Historiques des Hommes Illustres... fra 1746. - Hofmans omgang i Paris med tidens fornemste bogkunstnere gav ham smag for den nye franske bogkunst og han knyttede mange af disse kunstnere til udgivelsen af værket med dets pompøse udsmykninger, således blev hans eget portræt, som indleder værket, stukket af den fremtrædende franske kunstner J.G. Wille. I værket redegøres for over 40 danske adelsslægter, Friis, Skeel, Rantzau, Thott m.v. samt fremtrædende personligheder så som Tordenskjold, og særligt må fremhæves afsnittet om Tycho Brahe, der ud over hans stukne portræt, indeholder kortet over Hven, prospekt af Uranienborg m.v.This fine work describes 40 noble Danish families and renowned Danes, among these Tycho Brahe and his family. There is a chapter on him, with his engraved portrait (1 engraved plate), a map of Hven (in the text) and illustrations of his observatories at the island Hven (2 engraved plates).

Undated, Around 1820. 4to. (22 x 18 cm.). Contemp. hcalf. Gilt spines. Titlelabel with gilt lettering. A paperlabel pasted on lower part of spine. Title-page. I-X (Table des materières),186 pp. and 6 folded MS-plates in folio with 29 geometrical figures. Written in a fine small legible hand in brown ink in French. Many mathematical formulas describing different trajectories, loads, ammunition etc., discussing and correction the theories of Gregory, Poisson, Rumford, Robins, Bezout, Borda, Legendre etc. The MS does nor unveils the name of the author. Unprinted ?.

(Petropoli (St. Petersbourg), 1750). 4to. Uncut, without wrappers. Extracted from "Novi Commentarii Academiae Scientiarum Imperialis Petropolitanae", Tom. I. ad Annum 1747 et 1748. Pp. 245-266 a. 1 engraved plate (ad. p. 251). Clean and fine. First appearance of a groundbreaking paper in chemistry in which Lomonosov describes his discovery of the transition of a metal into passive state, and this is the first scientific description of this phenomena. He observed and described fast termination of the dissolution of iron in concentrated nitric acid, and attributed this to a change in the solvent properties."Lomonosov employed corpuscular mechanics in chemical explanations more extensively than Boyle had done. Treating chemical compounds as particles in adhesion, he held that "adhesion is eliminated and renewed by means of motion.....since no change in a body can take place withouy motion". He attempted to apply these theories to chemical phenomena - although he was limited to speculation- in papers on the action of chemical solvents in general.."(DSB VIII, p. 469)."Lomonosov was founder of Russian science, and he would be universally recognized as a great pioneer of science had he been born a West European. He was famous also for his literary works, including poems and dramas. In 1755 he wrote a Russian Grammar that reformed the language and in the same year he helped found the University of Moscow. In 1760 he published the first history of Russia."(Isaac Asimov).

Hannover, Zu finden bey Nicolai Försters und Sohns sel. Erben, 1735. 8vo. Cont.full vellum w. author and title in old hand on back. Bdg. a bit soiled. Internally a bit of brownspotting., title-page w. professionally repaired tear. Inner front-hinge starting to crack, but bdg. and bookblock tight. Overall a good and fairly well preserved copy. With engr. portrait, woodcut vignettes and one folded engr. plate depicting an early calculating machine. (28), 64, 1030 pp. Rare third German edition. Last Richter-edition. First published in French in 1710. It is the only larger philosophical work, Leibnitz himself published and it is a work of immense importance to philosophy, theology and mathematics. In this work Leibniz represents his excellent calculating machine, which has served as the basis for what we now call a computer, as he presents the binary arithmetic, "Rechnen mit Null und Eins" ("calculating with zero and one") in the Beylage (p. 926), which forms the basis for the much later developed computer science (see PMM 177). This work contains "Anmerkungen" by Richter and "Lebens=Beschreibung" by Fontenelle, followed by "Beylage". In these "Beylage" we find the method of converting numbers into the binary system, which here is said to be "etwas recht neues, welches der Herr Leibnitz zu Hanover erfunden" ("something brand new, which Mr. Leibnitz von Hanover has discovered") as well as "Eine Schrift. In welcher klar gezeiget wird/ dass nicht Herr Neuton,sondern der Herr von Leibnitz Erfinder des CALCULI DIFFERENTIALIS sey." (A Treatise. In which it is clearly shown/ that Mr. Leibniz and not Mr. Newton is the inventor of the CALCULI DIFFERENTIALIS").All early editions of the Theodicee are rare. See D.S.B.: VIII, pp. 161-166.

Paris, Denis Thierry & Claude Barbin, 1682. 8vo. Uniformly bound in two contemporary full calf bindings with five raised bands and richly gilt spines. Edges of boards gilt. Light wear to extremities, small parts of gilting worn off. Small paper-label pasted on to top of spines. Red underlignings on title-page of vol. 1, otherwise a nice and clean set. (8), 360 pp.; (12), 361-710, (2) pp. The rare first edition of Méré’s letters to notable personalities of the times such as Ménage, Balzac, Lesdiguières, Mme de Maintenon, Pascal, Ninon de Lenclos and Madeleine de Scudéry. Chevalier de Méré (1607-1684), whose real name was Antoine Gombaud, was a French writer and thinker. De Méré was known for his contributions to literature, particularly in the of moral philosophy and social commentary. He is perhaps best remembered for his participation in the intellectual circles of his time, where he engaged in discussions and correspondences of which this work is a fine testimony. De Méré's writings, especially the present, offer insights into the social and cultural milieu of 17th-century France.

Kjøbenhavn., Kgl. Majest. priv. Bogtrykkerie, 1749. Folio. Samtidigt helldrbd. med ophøjede bind på rygge. Forgyldt rygtitel. Øverste kapitæl og rygfelt repareret. Et par svagheder i false ved øverste og nederste rygfelt reparerede. Lille stempel på titelbladet. 10,(4),1534,(1) pp. 2 kobberstukne plancher, det ene Chr. IV i hel figur efter Carl von Manders maleri, stukket af C. Fritsch samt portræt af Slange, ligeledes stukket af Fritsch. Titelbladet med en ubetydelig revne øverst i indre fals. Udmærket rent eksemplar med brede marginer. Originaludgaven af dette monumentalværk som fortsætter hvor Arild Huitfeld slap, og giver en indholdsrig fremstilling af Christian IV's begivenhedsrige historie.

Paris, Ex officina Roberti Stephani, 1543. 8vo. In later half calf with gilt lettering to spine. Previous owner's name to front free end-paper (Poul Rubow, Danish screenplay writer). Wormtract in lower outer corner, far from affecting text. Underlined and annotated in margin in contemporary hand throughout. (16), 352, (2) pp. One of the most important Renaissance editions of Sueton’s Twelve Caesars. ""In this edition, " says Ernesti, "Stephen first made use of the famous Memmian MS. which may be said to form the basis of the present general text of Suetonius."" (Dibdin II.440). In terms of the history of typography it also claims an important role since the types of Claude Garamond, here used in the italic, were to become dominant in France and to assume an important place in the typeface of the Western world. "Another early example of an edition of a Latin classic in Robert Estiennes new italic type. This has long been recognized to be one of the principal Renaissance editions of Suetonius' Lives of the Twelve Caesars, it was edited by Robert himself, who claims to have established the text with the help of a vetustum exemplar, which is believed to be the Codex Memmianus, our oldest and best MS of Suetonius". (Schreiber No. 71) The Twelve Caesars, is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus. The group is: Julius Caesar (d. 44 BC), Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus, Domitian (d. 96 AD).The work, written in AD 121 during the reign of the emperor Hadrian, was the most popular work of Suetonius, at that time Hadrian's personal secretary, and is the largest among his surviving writings. The Twelve Caesars was considered very significant in antiquity and remains a primary source on Roman history.Renouard, p. 58, No. 11.Schreiber, Estienne No. 71

Amsterdam, De la Compagnie, 1731. Small 8vo. Bound in 4 nice uniform contemp. full calf. Covers with panels, blintooled, Cambridge-binding style. Covers with gilt borders. Richly gilt spines. Title-and tomelabels with gilt lettering. Minor cracks to upper fronthinge on volume one. Light wear to spineends on volume one. Engraved frontispiece. Title-pages in red and black. (2),XXII,(2);(8),292;(4),330,(24);(4),292 (wrongly 392) pp., 5 large folded engraved maps., 27 partly folded engraved plates. Small closed tear to one plate. Faint marginal browning. Some copies have the imprint, Paris, Osmont, 1730. Vols. III and IV relate almost entirely to the French possessions in South America, and are illustrated with D'Anville's maps. (Sabin, 38414).

(London, Harrison and Sons, 1878). 4to. No wrappers as extracted from "Philosophical Transactions" 1877 - Vol. 167. Pp. 313-349. First appearance of Adams and Day's landmark paper, in which they demonstrated that electricity could be produced from light without moving parts, eventually leading to the modern solar cell. It is here that Adams shows for the first time that the discovery of Willoughby Smith - that the conductivity of selenium is due only to the effect of light - is correct and furthermore that light has an effect on the resistance of selenium and that light generates electrical currents in selenium. Two years later Adams expanded the work and published 'Solar Heat'. Here he described his "Power Tower Concept", which to this day remains the basis of solar plants.William Grylls Adams (1836 - 1915), professor of Natural Philosophy at King's College, London, and brother of the famous astronomer John Couch Adams (1819-1892), was President of the Physical Society of London from 1878 to 1880. In 1872 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and in 1875 delivered their Bakerian Lecture. He was president of the Institute of Electrical Engineers and of the mathematical and physical section of the British Association.His greatest achievement lies in demonstrating the seminal discovery that electricity could be produced from light without moving parts. The road to this discovery was begun in 1839 when Becquerel discovered that illumination of one of two metal plates in a dilute acid changed the electromotive force. Another French scientist, Auguste Mouchout, followed up on Becquerel's discovery, but it was not until 1876, when Adams and Richard Evans Day discovered that illuminating a junction between selenium and platinum has a photovoltaic effect, that the foundation for the documented use of solar thermal power was laid [with the publication of the present paper]. "From a historical viewpoint, it is of interest to note that the first experiments on the generation of solar thermal power in India were conducted by an Englishman, William Adams, about one hundred years ago. Adams stayed in Coloba, Mumbai and performed his experiments in the compound of his bungalow. He used a sphecical reflector 12 m in diameter, made from sheets of glass mirror. The sun's rays were focussed on a boiler having a capacity of about 60 litres and the steam generated was used to drive a 2.5 HP steam pump. Adams's work is described in a book written by him entitled "Solar Heat - A Substitute for Fuel in Tropical Countries for Heating Steam Boilers and Other Purposes" (Education Society's Press, Byculla, Bombay, 1878)." (Sukhatme & Neyak, "Solar Energy. Principles of Thermal Collection and Storage", p. 48)"William Grylls Adams was and English scientist who taught as a professor in the department of Natural Philosophy at King's College. He is notable for his contribution to the discovery of the photoelectric effect, on which all solar energy applications are based. He was inspired by Auguste Mouchout's invention of the solar steam engine. With the intent of making improvements to Mouchot's design, Adams began to experiment with different materials and designs. In 1876, working in conjunction with his student, Richard Day, he discovered that selenium produced electricity when exposed to sunlight. Using the selenium, he then added mirrors to the design to concentrate sunlight on the engine. This design came to be known as the power tower concept and is still in use today." (Smith & Taylor, "Renewable and Alternative Energy resources: A Reference Handbook", 2008, pp. 1556-56).Wheeler Gift, No. 3856. - Shiers "Early Televison", no. 73.

Paris, Crochard, 1832. Contemp. hcalf., gilt spine, light wear along edges. In: "Annales de Chimie et de Physique, Par MM. Gay-Lussac et Arago.", tome 50, Series 2. (Entire volume offered). 448 pp. 2 folded engraved plates. Faraday's papers: pp. 5-67 a. pp. 113-162. First French editions of the 2 first memoirs of Faradays groundbreaking researches on electricity, constituting the first 2 papers of his "Experimental Researches in Electricity", and containing his fundamental discovery of electromagnetic induction, THE FOUNDATION OF NEARLY ALL THE ELECTRICITY IN USE TODAY. In 1820 Oersted had generated magnetism from electricity, Faraday here finds the opposite effect, generating electricity by magnetism. He also described the first electrical generator (second paper). THESE PAPERS ARE SOME OF THE GREAT CLASSICS OF CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS."Faraday demonstrated this theory involving the lines of force....by inserting a magnet into a coil of wire attached to a galvanometer. While the magnet was being inserted or removd, current flowed through the wire. If the magnet was held stationary and the coil moved over it one way or the other, there was current in the wire. In either case the magnetic lines of force about the magnet were cut by the wire.If the magnet and coil were both held motionless, whether the magnet was within the coil or not, there was no current...Faraday hd thus discovered electricalinduction...It was to lead to great things, but this was not apparent."(Asimov)."Although his discovery of the electric motor and the dynamo was almost entirely identical to his theoretical discoveries, it laid the foundation of the modern electrical industry - electric light and power, teælephony, wireless telegraphy, televison etc. - by providing for the production of continous mechanical motion from an electrical source, and vice versa." (PMM, 308).Horblit, 29 - Milestones, 62. - Dibner, 64. - PMM, 308.

Erfurt, Georg Adam Keyser, 1796. 4to. Bound uncut in a nice recent cardboard-binding with red leather title-label to spine with gilt lettering. Internally two leaves with few black dots (ink?), not affecting text. Fine and clean. 14 pp. Rare first edition of Chladni's work on the longitudinal vibrations of strings and rods. Chladni was the first to reduce the general association between vibration and pitch to a tabular basis, and thus to lay the foundation of the modern science of acoustics. His first results were first reported in New Discoveries in the Theory of Sound, 1787. In the present work, much rare than his 1787-work, Chladni examined the transverse vibrations of bars and strings (the movement of the body particles takes place transversely to the length of the bar or the side) and discovered the longitudinal vibrations and the torsional vibrations. With the help of the longitudinal vibrations he was able to determine the speed at which sound propagates in solid bodies and gases. (His 1787-work: PMM233a; Dibner Heralds of Science 150; Norman 480; Sparrow Milestones of Science 39)

Copenhague, Claude Philibert, 1777. 4to. Bound in a fine much later full morocco. Raised bands. Gilt lettering on spine. All edges gilt. Stamp on foot of title-page. Engraved titlevignette. (4),XVI,(8),440,(1) pp., 6 folded tables and 30 large folded engraved plates. Probably a gift copy as it is a copy on large paper and printed on thick fine paper. Further it has an additional engraved plate numb. XXX. First edition. Having very detailled descriptions and illustrations of all kinds of gunnery for the reformed French Army. -Sloos. Warfare and the Age of Printing, 7125.

(Paris, L'Imprimerie Royale, 1735). 4to. Without wrappers. Extracted from "Mémoires de l'Academie des Sciences. Année 1733". Pp. 23-39, pp. 73-84, pp. 233-254 a. 1 engraved plate, pp. 457-476. With titlepage to the volume (1733/1735). First appearance of these milestone papers in the histroy of electricity in which Dufay explains his discovery of two kinds of electricity and the relation between them, attraction and repulsion, shocks and sparking, and the full recognition of electrostatic repulsion. He formulates the two-fluid theory of electricity. He further showed that "not all bodies can become electrified themselves" (by friction) and went on to show, "that they can all acquire a considerable (electrical) virtue when the tube (of rubbed) glass), wood, metals or liquids are brought near them,", provided only that they are insulated by beiing stood on "a support of glass or of sealing-wax".Dufay "TRANSFORMED A COLLECTION OF MISCELLANEOUS WEEDS INTO THE FIRST GARDEN OF EUROPE" (Heilbron)"Dufay's substantive discoveries - ACR, the two electricities, shocks and sparking - are but one aspect, and perhaps not the most significant, of his achievement. His insistence on the impiortence of the subject, on the universal character of electricity, on the necessity of organizing, digesting and regulariizing known facts before grasping new ones, all helped to introduce order and professionel standards into the study of electricity at precisely the moment when the accumulation of data began to require them. He foundthe subject a record of often capricious, disconnected phenomena, the domain of the polymaths, textbook writers, and prfesional lecturers, and left a body of knowledge that invited and rewarded prolonged scrutinity from serious physicists." (Heilbron "Electricity in the 17 & 18 Centuries", p. 260).Parkinson "Breakthroughs", 1734 P - Ronalds Library, p. 145. - Not in Wheeler Gift Cat.

Sorø, Jonas Lindgren, 1761, 1762 & 1763. 8vo. Uniformly bound in six contemporary full mottled calf bindings with five raised bands and gilt lettering and ornamentation to spine. Wear to extremities, boards with scratches, spine-ends chipped, some with loss of leather. Internally with occassional light brownpostting, but generally nice and clean. (23), 4-416 pp. + frontispiece; (3), 418-840, 32, (1), 722-728 pp; (2), 408 pp.; (3), 410-808 [i.e. 888] pp.; (2), 400 pp.; (3), 402-948, (2) pp. First appearance of this important Danish Enlightenment journal published between 1761 and 1763. The publication covered a wide range of topics, including politics, literature, philosophy, and cultural matters, and it played a significant role in shaping public opinion during its time. "Den Patriotiske Tilskuer" aimed to promote enlightened ideas and reforms, and it contributed to the intellectual and cultural life of Denmark during the 18th century. It was published twice each week and in approximately 1000 copies.

Frankfurt, Kaufmann, 1921. Royal 8vo. Original half cloth binding with the illustrated and printed cardboard-boards. Hinges weak, internally and externally, and cloth here a bit torn. Overall a very good copy of of this very fragile original binding (the cloth is very thin and fragile and usually totally ruined, making the work quite scarce in the original binding - which has the David Star on the front board). Internally very nice and clean. 532 pp - 2 leaves of advertisement. The uncommon, and in original binding fairly scarce, first edition of this overlooked masterpiece by one of the most significant Jewish philosophers of the 20th century. The work should rightfully be considered one of the most important philosophical productions of the 20th century and ought to rank with Heidegger's "Sein und Zeit". The work, which Rosenzweig wrote while in the trenches of the First World War, is the attempt to articulate the place of man in Creation. In Rosenzweig's dense prose, various strains come together and are reconciled: Judaism and Christianity, on the one hand, and German idealism and nascent existentialism, on the other.This grandiose synthesis both builds on and distances itself from Rosenzweig´s doctoral dissertation on Hegel´s concept of the state, which still ranks among the most significant 20th century contributions to the literature on Hegel. By its ambition of going beyond the format of academic philosophy to embrace the reality of human existence, Der Stern der Erlösung could be compared to Sein und Zeit, Martin Heidegger's first major work which was published in the same year. And it is exactly the towering influence of Heidegger on 20th century philosophy that has overshadowed Rosenzweig's work, which has, however, only gained in prominence in recent years, especially through the writings of Emmanuel Levinas, on whom Rosenzweig was a major influence."Der Stern der Erlösung" is usually labeled a work of Jewish philosophy, and Rosenzweig is rightly considered along with Emmanuel Levinas and Martin Buber, his close friend and collaborator, as one of the most significant Jewish philosophers of the 20th century. However, his scope and vision transcend parochial boundaries and should, as we develop a more considered perspective on the last century, earn "Der Stern der Erlösung" a place among its most important works of philosophy.

London, Chez de Bure l'aîne, 1754. Small 8vo. 2 cont. full mottled calf, richly gilt backs, tome-and titlelabels in leather, gilt. Very slightly rubbed. Fine. 2 halftitles. (2),VI,345;(4),335,(1) pp. Old owners name on titles, 1 leaf with a tear, repaired without loss. A few minor brownspots, fine and clean. Rare first edition of Condillac's main work. Condillac's philosophy of science was considered the most authoritative reading of Newtonian methodology. Among many others Lavoicier and other protagonists of the chemical revolution were influenced by his reform of nomenclature, as were and are botanists, zoologists and geometrics by his scientific explanations. His psychological empiricism is now considered the first positivist account of science.Condillac was one of the greatest French philosophers of the Enlightenment. He was friends with Rousseau and Diderot and was a forerunner in the junction between epistemology and philosophy, which was inspired by Locke and Newton, as the two sciences almost merged into one in this period. "Condillac contibuted to the synthesis more decisively than did any other writer." (D.S.B. III:380).In this his main and most important work Condillac shows how more complicated functions of the soul arise from the combination and counter-effects of the sensations. According to his highly influential theory, all thought is derived from sense-perception, by placing sensations in a certain order with the help of language and mathematical signs.His "philosophy of science as language occupies a midpoint in the evolution of scientific epistemology between the empiricism of Locke and the positivism of Comte." (D.S.B. III:380).Condillac viewed language as the analyst of experience and in this work puts forth his idea that effective knowledge is derived from the mind's ability to invent and manipulate symbols of uniform and determinate significance. He approached all problems genetically and adduced the acquisition of language by regarding a baby. "(I)n the most comprehensive of his works, the "Traité des sensations", he sets out, faithful to his genetic approach, to trace in principle the process by which a being organized with the capacity of becoming human learns to avail itself of the several senses with which it is provided." (D.S.B. III:381).

Kiøbenhaffn, Henrich Walkirch, 1600. Folio. I et samtidigt hellæderbind over træ. Ryg med fire ophøjede bind. Bind restaureret, men størstedelen af det oprindelige læder er bevaret på ryg og permer. Talrige ormehuller på permer. Verso af forperm tæt annotteret i samtidig hånd. Rester af to læderspænder. Første fire blade samt kolofon suppleret i faksimile. Otte blade i begyndelsen (sidste to af fortalen, samt Formanning til...) samt fyrre blade sidst (pp. 335-398 samt register) suppleret fra andet eksemplar. Bladene fra det indsatte eksemplar er beskåret ca 2 cm mere på alle marginer end det oprindelige eksemplar. Flere blade med reperationer i margin. (24), 362, 398, (18) pp. Med talrige monumentale halvsides træsnit i teksten illustrerende Jesu levnedsløb, hvis kunstner indtil for nylig var uidentificeret. (Se noten nedenfor). Postillen udkom først på Latin i 1561 og blev fortsat med ialt 16 Latinske udgaver, alle kan man vist sige, af største sjældenhed. Carl S. Petersen kalder Niels Hemmingsen "den største teologiske Videnskabsmand, der har levet i vor Fædreland", og som elev af Melancton må han nok betegnes som den mest betydelige tænker i Reformationstidens Danmark og Norge. Hans Postil er ikke egentlige prædikener, "men dispositioner til saadanne, udarbejdede med det formål at tvinge præsten til alvorlig gennemtænkning af den hellige Text". Samtiden tildelte ham navnet "Danmarks almindelige Lærer".ANG. ILLUSTRATIONERNE: En dansk bogsamler og ekspert på danske 1500-tals tryk (Jørgen Jark) har fornylig bidraget til opklaringen af de monumentale illustrationers ophav. Han anfører, at signaturen CE (i Thesaurus fejllæst som CF) - ifølge Nagler "Die Monogramisten" - sandsynligvis står for kunstneren, mester Endele. Han var af Wittenbergskolen, og denne serie af billeder var tidligere anvendt i en tysk udgave af Luthers Postil. Et par af billederne er mærket med årstallene 1561 og 1562. Efter lånet til Danmark må de være returneret, da de ikke optræder senere i noget andet dansk tryk. Træskæreren har markeret sig med en træskærerkniv og et 4tals-agtigt tegn, der er et i tiden og tidligere ofte anvendt laugsmærke. Et par af billederne tilhører en helt anden serie, f.eks. bind I, blad 71b. De tilskrives Hans Brosamer og hele denne serie blev brugt af Matz Vingaard i hans LutherpostilLauritz Nielsen: 887 Thesaurus I, 100.

Amsterdam, George Gallet, 1700. 8vo. Three volumes uniformly bound in two contemporary full calf bindings with three raised bands. Spine miscoloured and with a few small holes. Ex-libris pasted on to pasted down front end-paper. Worm-tract affecting vol. 1. Occassionally closely trimmed, with a bit of loss to margins. Text-leaves brownspotted, plates fine and clean. (10), 238, (2) pp. + frontispiece, engraved half-title and 79 plates (on 64 leaves); (2), 254, (2) pp. engraved half title and 51 plates (on 42 leaves). (2), 270, (2) pp. Engraved half-title and 22 plates. First French translation of Goegaert’s early work on entomology being the first to write on the insects of the Netherlands and Europe, based on his own observations and experiments. For the first time, insects are represented using the intaglio technique. He carefully observed of all phases of insect growth, from larva to adult through the stage of metamorphosiscontaining detailed illustrations of insects at various stages of their life cycles, along with descriptions of their behavior and habitats: "The first basic work on entomolgy (…) The insects depicted were given characteristic and often witty names by Goedaert." (Landwehr S. 93). Johannes Goedaert, also known as Jan Goedaert, was a Dutch Golden Age painter and naturalist, born around 1617 in Middelburg, Netherlands, and died around 1668. He is primarily remembered for his work in the field of natural history, particularly his illustrations of insects. Goedaert was one of the first naturalists to study and depict insects in their natural habitats. His most famous work is "Metamorphosis Naturalis," published posthumously in 1662. This book contained detailed illustrations of insects at various stages of their life cycles, along with descriptions of their behavior and habitats. His observations were made without the aid of a microscope, which was a remarkable feat for the time. Goedaert's contributions to the study of insects helped lay the foundation for future research in entomology. Although he was not widely recognized during his lifetime and his work has gained appreciation in later centuries for its scientific accuracy and artistic merit. Three variants of this French translation appeared in 1700; One stating Amsterdam, one stating La Haye and one without year - no priority has been established. Nissen 1604Brunet II, 1642

Leipzig, 1858-62. 8vo. Bound in one nice contemporary half calf with gilt spine. A bit of wear to capitals and hinges, and front hinge slightly cracked at bottom, otherwise fine. Minor occassional brownspotting. A small stamp to title-page. XIV, 371, (1) pp. + 1 folded plate; XVI, 398, (1 - errata) pp. The scarce first edition of Curtius' magnum opus, a work of immense importance to the theory of the Greek language and one of the most important, influential, and useful works on the theory of language in general. "Nach den Ansichten Aller, auch der Gegner, gehören diese "Grundzüge" zu den werthvollsten und nützlichsten Werken der Sprachwissenschaft überhaupt" (Ernst Windisch in: Sebeok, Portraits of Linguists, I: p. 332).The work took Curtius about a decade to write, and the two volumes appeared with four years in between them. It is very rare to find any of the two volumes in the first edition, and both volumes in the first edition are almost never seen together. The work became immensely popular, and five editions appeared between this first and 1879. Georg Curtius (1820-1885) is one of the leading German classicists of all times. His writings were fundamental to the study of the Greek language and are among the most profound, influential and thorough ever written.Within the theory of language, one can hardly point to a work more generally influential than the present, which also excels in stringently and eloquently pointing out the connection between etymology and phonetics and proving that only through phonetics has etymology become a science.

1926. Royal8vo. Author's presentation offprint with the printed presentation statement on top of frontwrapper "Überreicht von den Verfassern" [i.e. "Given by the authors"]. Original printed wrappers. Front wrapper loose, but fully intact. "Chilpp 202" and "Recdese 160" written in hand to top of front wrapper. A very fine and clean copy. Pp. 334-351. First edition, in the scarce author's presentation offprint issue, of this important paper, which contains Einstein's theories on wave-particle duality and German physicist Rupp's work on the same subject, seemingly to corroborating Einstein's theories. Rupp's experimental results later turned out to have been falsifications, and today he is mainly known as the protagonist in one of the biggest scandals in physics in the 20th century.Rupp published a number of papers on the interference properties of light emitted by canal ray sources. These articles, particularly the present that came into being in close collaboration with Albert Einstein, attracted quite a lot of attention, as they probed the wave versus particle nature of light. They also significantly propelled Rupp's career, even though they were considered highly controversial to begin with.In April 1926, Albert Einstein proposed to Emil Rupp to carry out two experiments that were to prove the wave nature of light versus the particle nature of light: the so-called 'Wire Grid Experiment' and the 'Rotated Mirror Experiment', experiments that Einstein had worked on theoretically and now would like to gain confirmation of through experiments. Rupp, at the time regarded as one of the most important and most competent experimental physicists, gladly took up the challenge. Rupp's observations - though highly controversial - confirmed Einstein's theory. Due to the surprising outcome of the experiments, Einstein was interested in exactly how it they were conducted, as Rupp's initial descriptions did not convince him that the results were feasible."Rupp stood by his observations and suggested yet other circumstances that might explain them. Did Einstein now realize that there was something rather dubious about Rupp's work? He had seen him change his data repeatedly-and each time in better accordance with his own criticism, and on one occasion in no less than two days. He had had to accept that Rupp claimed to earlier have "unknowingly" or "unconsciously" rotated a mirror, and he will likely have seen that Rupp's work was highly controversial amongst experimentalists, leading to very public criticism in Die Naturwissenschaften. He himself was now also convinced that, in fact, Rupp's results were incomprehensible. So, did Einstein choose to suspend the publication of Rupp's piece, so that an additional round of checks and balances could take place? The answer is no: Rupp's paper was presented by Einstein to the Prussian Academy in a session on 21 October 1926, and it appeared in print in the Academy's proceedings in November of 1926-the articles by Einstein and Rupp came out back to back, and reprints circulated with both papers bound together, with a joint cover page that displayed both titles. Einstein referred in his article to Rupp's claims and he had even written the abstract of Rupp's paper" (Dongen: "Emil Rupp, Albert Einstein and the Canal Ray Experiments on Wave-Particle").The first clear indication that Rupp's work was impossible to recreate came in 1930 in a paper published by Staub - nothing was wrong with Einstein's theory but Rupp's work was simply impossible: "Rupp immediately set out to respond to Straub's publication. On 12 July 1930 he sent a first draft to Einstein, to whom he also announced his intention of redoing his canal ray experiments-Straub was dismissed as a clumsy graduate student with a lousy apparatus. Einstein suggested inviting Straub once Rupp had his experiment up and running again, but cautioned him not to engage the polemic in too sharp a tone". Rupp managed to convince the physics society and continued to publish the new few years. In 1934 various different physicians pointed out that Rupp's work was impossible to recreate, and in 1935 the final blow to Rupp's career came about, when the German Physical Society's decided not to allow any citations of Rupp's work. This seems to have had very severe consequences, as today it is almost impossible to find any quotations - or even mentioning of Rupp in general, let alone his fraud - in any historical studies of either quantum theory or of Einstein.Despite the unquestionable fraud by Rupp, his experiments and collaboration with Einstein might have had a positive influence on the further progression to quantum mechanics. The two present papers became of seminal importance in the discussions between Bohr and Heisenberg, which eventually in 1927 resulted in Heisenberg publishing his landmark thesis on the uncertainty principle. When Max Born received the Nobel Prize in physics he stated that: "An idea of Einstein gave me the lead [From the present paper]. He had tried to make the duality of particles-light quanta or photons-and waves comprehensible by interpreting the square of the optical wave amplitudes as probability density for the occurrence of photons."Boni 160; Weil 153.