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Paris, L'Imprimerie Royale, 1732 a. 1733. 4to. Without wrappers. Extracted from "Mémoires de l'Academie des Sciences. Année 1730 and 1731". Pp. 452-507 a. pp. 250-296 and 1 folded engraved plate. With engraved frontispiece and titlepage to Année 1730/1732. Clean and fine. First appearance of these importent paper in which Reaumur reveled how he constructed his invention of the thermometer scale, the scale which bears his name. The construction of the thermometer was based on alchohol, and the scaling bases on 0 degree for the freezing point of water and 80 degree for the boiling point of water.Parkinson "Breakthroughs" 1730.

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.

Wien, Prag und Triest, Trattnern, 1759-60. 4to. Bound in 6 contemp. fine uniform full calf, richly blindtooled covers, Cambridge-style bindings. Raised bands. Richly gilt compartments. Tome-and titlelabels with gilt lettering. Some spineends with a little wear and one torn. S Stamps on title-pages. Engraved portrait as frontispiece, Engraved titlevignettes, fine engraved vignettes in the text and 145 (of 146 - one in xerox-copy) engraved plates (mainly double-page and folded). The 3 engraved maps missing. Internally clean and fine, printed on good paper. All 6 volumes have exceptionally fine endpapers with handcoloured flowers. Graesse V,396 - Rumpf:237.

Paris, Ph.-D. Pierres, 1779. 4to. Nice recent vellum, titlelabel with gilt lettering on spine. (4),XXVIII,471 pp. Wide-margined, clean and fine. First edition of Bezout's main work - a fundamental contribution to algebraic geometry - in which he prooved the so called ´Bezout's theorem. The theorem was essentially stated by Isaac Newton in his proof of lemma 28 of volume 1 of his Principia, where he claims that two curves have a number of intersection points given by the product of their degrees.Bézout's theorem is a statement in algebraic geometry concerning the number of common points, or intersection points, of two plane algebraic curves. The theorem claims that the number of common points of two such curves X and Y is equal to the product of their degrees. The work stimulated many investigations in the modern theory of elimination, including Cauchy’s refinements of elimination procedure and Sylvester’s work on resultants and inertia forms. Bezout’s theorem is crucial to the study of the intersection of manifolds in algebraic geometry."It was not until 1779 that Bezout published his Théorie des équations algébriques, his major work on elimination theory. Its best-known achievement is the statement and proof of Bezout’s theorem: "The degree of the final equation resulting from any number of complete equations in the same number of unknowns, and of any degrees, is equal to the product of the degrees of the equations." Bezout, following Euler, defined a complete polynomial as one that contains each possible combination of the unknowns whose degree is no more than the degree of the polynomial. Bezout also computed that the degree of the resultant equation is less than the product of the degrees for various systems of incomplete equations. Here we shall consider only the complete case.The proof makes one marvel at the ingenuity of Bezout, who, like Euler, not only could manipulate formulas but also had the ability to choose those manipulations that would be fruitful. He was compelled to justify his nth-order results by a naive "induction" from the observed truth of the statements for 1, 2, 3 ···. Also, numbered subscripts had not yet come into use, and the notations available were clumsy."(DSB).

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, Apud Michaëlum de Roigny, 1569. Small 8vo. Very nice recent half calf with five raised bands and gilt title to spine. Old owner's name to title-page (discreet). A nice and clean copy with only minor, very light soiling. Nice woodcut initials. 51 ff. Very rare first edition of this work on the freedom and immortality of the soul, by the father of the famous physicist and anatomist, Jean Riolan the Younger. Jean Riolan the Elder (1539-1605) was also himself a noted French anatomist and a leading member of the medical faculty of Paris. He fought against the novelties that entered the faculty due to Paracelsus and authored a number of works attacking the most famous of the scientists who were in favour of chemical means. Works by him are of great scarcity.The work, which is divided into three parts attacks the theories on the soul of Pomponazzi, Portius, Sepulveda, and Cardano, and as such it is an important document in the seminal controversy about the immortality odf the soul which dominated most philosohical thought of the Renaissance.We have been unable to find the work in any bibliographies.

Basle, Ludovic König, 1620. 4to. In contemporary limp vellum with yapp edges and title in contemporary hand to spine. Small paper-label pasted on to top of spine. Light soiling and wear to extremities. Previous owner name (Petrus Jacobi Holmius) to title-page. Neat marginal annotations in contemporary hand throughout, otherwise nice and clean. (16), 324 pp. The uncommon first edition of Buxtorf’s work on the tradition of the Masoretes of Tiberias. Here Buxtorf discusses various aspects of Tiberias, including its geographical, historical, and cultural significance. Intended as the supplement to his famous Biblia Rabbinica the present work gained fame and acknowledgment in its own right.The work is structured into three sections: Commentary on the Masorah, Key of the Masorah, and Critical Commentary. While Buxtorf maintains the belief that the Masoretic text represents the authentic version of the Bible, he embraces Levita's groundbreaking theory asserting that the masoretic vocalization and cantillation marks originated with Ezra and the Men of the Great Assembly. "Tiberias was the first Latin language introduction to biblical scholarship, and its paratextual elements, and the Masoretic apparatus" (The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern Theology, 1600-1800, edited by U.L. Lehner et al., 2016). "Tiberias is Buxtorf’s fullest and most impressive work on the history of the biblical text. He conceived it as the first of four proposed guides to the four parts of the Basel rabbinical Bible edition: Hebrew text, Targums, rabbinical Bible commentaries and Masora." (Burnett). Tiberias holds importance in Jewish history, particularly during the period of the Talmudic and post-Talmudic eras. The city is located on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee and is associated with the development of Jewish traditions and scholarship. While Buxtorf is perhaps more famous for his Hebrew lexicons and grammatical works, "Tiberias, sive Commentarius" reflects his broader interest in Jewish history and culture, specifically focusing on a city that played a notable role in the development of Jewish learning and tradition. Johann Buxtorf (1564-1629), the "Master of the Rabbis," despite being a Protestant, was a Hebrew professor at the University of Basel for thirty-nine years. Upon his death, his position passed to his son Johann, known as Buxtorf the Younger (1599-1664), and then to his grandson, Johann Jakob (1645-1704). Throughout his life, he worked on the Masoretic text of the Old Testament, largely established by the Tiberian School in the 9th century. This text defined the authoritative biblical canon within Judaism and served as a reference for most Protestant and Catholic translations of the Old Testament. Buxtorf's work was enlarged and expanded by his son Johannes Buxtorf the Younger, in a second edition printed in 1665.

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.

A La Haie, 1757. 12mo. Very nice marbled full calf with richly gilt spine. Gilt title-label to spine. All edges of boards gilt (gilding a bit worn). Marbled edges. Front and back end-papers with a few later annotations. Otherwise a very nice and clean copy. VIII, 278 pp. Rare first edition of one of Mably's most important works. "His principes des negociations, which was to serve as an introduction to the Droit publique [...] was a courageous attack on the foreign policies of the European powers, and a plea for more rational and honest methods, not only for the sake of justice and humanity, but because they are actually profitable." (Whitfield, Ernest A., Gabriel Bonnot De Mably, New York, 1969).Gabriel Bonnot de Mably ( 1709 - 1785), was a French philosopher and politician. He was one of the 18th century's most popular writers but largely passed into obscurity in the 20th century. His works contributed to the later concepts of both communism and republicanism. Some have enrolled him in the French School of Utopianism: "Here also is the beginning of the French School of Utopian Communism properly so called. The Abbé de Mably (1709-1785) merits attention for his singularly clear exposition of the fundamental doctrine of equality: "The sentiment of equality if nothing else than sentiment of our dignity; men have become slaves by letting it grow feeble, and only by revivifying it will they become free"." (Catlin, George. A History of Political Philosophers, London, 1950).More recent research suggests another approach to Mably's thinking: "Mably should be seen as neither a proto-socialist nor a reactionary thinker, but as a republican - a classical republican, in fact, whose writing represents a later Gallic contribution to the political tradition founded by Machiavelli and Harrington. He is not only interesting as the personification of the revolutionary spirit and as a level-headed reformer, but because he formulated principles which have since been either accepted or re-discovered." (Wright J. History of Political Thought, Volume 13, Number 3, 1992 , pp. 391-415).

Paris, Ambrose & Drouart, 1606. Folio (350 x 240 mm). 2 volumes uniformly bound in contemporary full vellum with tome-number in contemporary hand to spines. Bindings lightly soiled. Vol. 1 with oblong spot to upper two compartments of spine. Front free end-paper in vol. 1 closely annotated in contemporary hand. A few occassional marginal annotation in contemporary hand throughout. A fine wide-margined copy. (16) including the engraved title-page, 739, (37) pp.; (4), 670, (38) pp. Rare second folio edition, third overall, of Thou’s famous ‘History’ – a work that, uncommon for the period, was universal rather than national in scope and famously impartial in judgement. It kept being read intensively studied throughout the 17th and 18th century. “De Thou’s pride in the appearance of his library (…) extended, naturally enough, to his own works. Since the second edition of 1604 had been hurriedly printed in octavo, de Thou now brought out the first part of his ‘History’ in the properly elegant folio form again. He always had some copies printed on especially fine paper, partly for royal gifts. Thus, the almost silmultaneous appearance of the second and third edition editions, along with the reprint of the first part in folio form, may be due not so much to commercial demand as to the fact that the two editions were destined to different readers, the second to assiduous but penurious scholars, the third [the present] to that of aristocracy which prided itself on a show of learning” (Kinser, The Works of Jacques-Auguste de Thou). Kinser 3-I, 3-II

(No place, nor year, but 1777) Folio (328 x 208 mm). 13 loose uncut sheets: 1 title-page and 12 beautiful engravings by Georg Vilhelm Baurenfeind, Jonas Haas depicting funeral monuments of Danish nobility. Fine and clean. Exceedingly rare first appearance of Klevenfeldt's beautiful depictions of 12 funeral monuments of Danish nobility.Terkel Klevenfeldt (1710 - 1777) was a Danish genealogist and historical collector whose work encompassed drawings of seals, transcriptions of charters, and genealogical charts. Although virtually none of his work was published during his lifetime, his diligent efforts preserved valuable information for future generations.Historian Erich Christian Werlauff, even two generations after Klevenfeldt’s death, praised him as the foremost expert on Danish-Norwegian noble history and genealogy. Another historian, Vedel Simonsen, albeit less cautiously, advocated for the publication of Klevenfeldt's genealogical charts. The work is of the utmost scarcity and OCLC only list two copies, both in Denmark. We have not been able to trace a single copy at auction.It was later enlarged by 21 plates. Biblioteca Danica III, 937.

Paris, Jean de Nully, 1715 4to. In a nice contemporary Cambridge-style mirror binding with five raised bands and richly gilt spine. Blindtooled ornamentation to boards and edges of boards, gilt line to boarders of boards. Super ex-libris to front board. Light wear to extremities, boards with scratches and with small hole. Ex-libris pasted on to pasted down front end-paper. Tear to free front end-paper. Second title-page with repair to lower outer corner, with loss of text. Last 8 ff. with dampstain, otheriwse a nice copy. (8), 272, (24), 207 pp. Later edition, unrecorded by any of the major bibliographies, of this influential work on the Mongol Empire. It was first published in 4 volumes in 12mo, then in 1725 in 4to. This copy, however, has a title-page dated 1715, and the map is dated 1725. In 2015 Christies sold a copy with an identical imprint (Auction 4035, lot 88, Maurice Burrus). Catrou’s work became very popular and it went through several translation and edition. Catrou based much of his information on the Venetian traveller Niccolao Manucci who spent almost his entire life in India. Manucci would send home the manuscript for "Storia do Mogor" which was lent to Catrou in 1707. To Manucci's displeasure Catrou published his own embellished version, this present work. Manucci’s original emerged in Berlin in 1915 and was quickly translated into three languages. (Brunet VI, 28172 - other editions).

Kiøbenhaffn, (Mads Vingaard), 1578. 12mo. I et nyere beskeden hellæderbind. 152 af 192 blade. Mangler følgende blade: 1-6, A1-2, E6, Aa1, Cc1-6, Ee1-6, Ff1-6, Gg1-6 , Hh1-6, Titelblad og sidste blad med bogtrykkermærke i facsimile. Alle blade omrandet med rammegarniture. Med gennemgående misfarvning. Den yderste sjældne originaludgave af Christensen's religiøse vejledning. Lauritz Nielsen er kun bekendt med ét eksemplar (i Det kongelige Bibliotek).First edition. "All issues from the 16th century are very rare and in all only six copies were known to Lauritz Nielsen".Lauritz Nielsen 1530Thesaurus 118

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

Heidelberg, Muhr und Zimmer, 1807. 8vo. Uniformly bound in three recent card-board bindings with gilt lettering to spine. Spines with sunning. Ex-libris (Philosopher Carl Henrik Koch) pasted on to pasted down front front end-paper. Verso and recto of front and back free end-paper in vol. 1 closely annotated in contemporary hand. With light occassional brownspotting throughout, a nice set.(2), L, 347 pp.; 327 pp.; 392 pp. The very rare first edition of Fries seminal work on psychology. “In his earliest writings, Fries generally referred to the science of psychology as “empirical psychology”. However, by 1807, in Neue Kritik der Vernunft, he preferred to call his own psychology “philosophical anthropology” and in 1820, under the influence of G. E. Schulze, he changed the title of his psychology to “psychic anthropology”. In the second edition of Neue Kritik der Vernunft (1828-31), in which he again used the title of “psychic anthropology”, Fries explained why he had avoided the use of the term “psychology”: “Although this science is usually called psychology we will deviate from this terminology for several reasons. The word «psyche» (or soul) has been used in philosophy to designat the metaphysical, persisting, simple, and immortal essence of the spirit, and its use therefore''implies certain assumptions which we cannot now entertain. We are only concerned with developing a doctrine of the nature of the human soul based upon "inner experience”. Thus we will deal only with inner anthropology. In thus narrowing our scope to the human spirit, we arrive at the topic of empirical psychology, or psychic anthropology. But our present task differs from empirical psychology, which is an experimental physics of inner life (eine innere Experimentalphysik) which remains forever fragmentary. We will not be satisfied with such a science. We want to achieve a [unified theory of inner life, a doctrine of inner nature, which will provide for [the study of] our inner psychic nature what 'the philosophy of nature now provides for physics. This part of psychic anthropology we want to call philosophical anthropology (From the introduction to Vol. 1, p. 36). “Thus, Fries called his psychology “psychic anthropology” both to avoid the metaphysical assumptions of the old rational psychology and to indicate his dissatisfaction with the current « fragmentary » and mechanical empirical psychology. On the first account, in rejecting the old metaphysics of the soul, Fries accepted Kant's critique of rational psychology; on the second, in rejecting the merely empirical status of psychology, he disagreed with Kant's evaluation of the limited epistemological possibilities of psychology. Instead he maintained that psychology need not be “merely empirical”, that it can attain the true status of a science, and, in other words, that its phenomena can be rationally organized according to metaphysical criteria. Kant (1786; trans., 1970) had denied this possibility, claiming that the metaphysical principles of natural science were not applicable to psychology. Fries agreed that the principles which Kant referred to as “the metaphysical principles of natural science” could not be used in psychology, but he pointed out that these principles were really « metaphysical principles of outer nature », not natural science per se, and that another set of metaphysical criteria was possible.” (Leary, T he Psychology of Jakob Friedrich Fries (1773-1843): Its Context, Nature, and Historical Significance, p. 231)

Berlin, 1833-36. 8vo. Three contemporary uniform brown half calf bindings with gilt title- and tome-labels. Professional restorations to capitals and hinges. Elegant library-stamp to inside of front boards of the first two volumes. Vol. 2 with a few pencil-underlinings, and vol. 3 with pencil-annotations to last leaf. A bit of occasional brownspotting. With all three title-pages for "Werke. Vollständige Ausgabe", vol. 13-15, facing the title-pages for the "Vorlesungen". XX, 418, (1, -errata); VI, 586; VIII, 692 pp. First edition of Hegel's seminal "Lectures on the History of Philosophy", which was published posthumously by Michelet. The work comprises Hegel's nine lectures on the history of philosophy, given in Jena in the winter of 1805-6, Heidelberg in the winters of 1816-17 and 1817-18, Berlin in the summer of 1819 and the winters of 1820-21, 1823-23, 1825-26, 1827-28 and 1829-30. Just before his death, in November 1931, Hegel had begun his tenth lecture course on the history of philosophy, but only get two give the first two hours of it. The work is based on Hegel's own lecture manuscript from Jena, which is stilized throughout and written in full ("er wagte damals noch nichts dem freien mündlichen Vorträge zu überlassen", -Michelet, Preface, p. VI), his shorter draft written in Heidelberg meant for further development at the lectures as well as number of later endorsements and additions written in the margins of the two manuscripts and on loose leaves ("Diese Blätter sind von unschätzbarem Werthe, weil sie die höchst reichen Zusätze aller Vorlesungen spätere Jahre durch seine eigene Handschrift dokumentieren", Michelet, Preface, p. VI). Besides this, a number of lecture notes from learned students, including those of Michelet and the other "Freunde des Verewigten", have been used to establish the text as correctly as possible. These highly influential lectures, which attracted philosophers from all over Europe, make up a cornerstone in the philosophy of Hegel, and his view on the history of philosophy is something that understreams all of his thought. These lectures, and not least the publication of them after his death, have seminally influenced later philosophy, and the following fifty years after Hegel's death were philosophically, culturally and historically much indebted to them. It is the Hegelianism that also springs from Hegel's lectures on the history of philosophy that carries historicism, the conception of cultural and social relations as products of history, through the 19th century.

München, Piper & Co, 1912. Small 4to. Original illustrated full cloth (stating Dritte Auflage - i.e. third issue). Binding brownspotted and with tear to lower capital. Internally a bit of occasional brownspotting. Owner's signature to title-page (Fjeltofte). (8), 104 pp. + 8 plates + 3 unnumbered leaves of tables (Tabelle I-III) + advertisement leaf. Illustrated with original woodcuts in the text, 10 in all. The scarce first edition, first printing of Kandinsky’s landmark theoretical work of art, ”A seminal text in the history of modern art” (Guggenheim), curiously bound in the third issue binding. The first issue is easily distinguishable from the second and third that also appeared in 1912, as they are both expanded and have 124 pp., whereas the first has 104. The present copy has small remains of stitching towards the inner margins, so perhaps someone had this first issue printing inserted into the third issue binding, which is sturdy as opposed to the wrappers of the first issue. “In Concerning the Spiritual in Art Wassily Kandinsky, one of the most famous abstract painters of all time, urges the reader to free themselves from art's traditional bonds to material reality. In this radical theoretical work, he calls for a spiritual revolution in painting, arguing that artists, much like musicians, should be allowed to express their own inner lives in abstract, non-material terms. Investigating form and colour, spirituality and tradition, Kandinsky explores art's resonance with the soul, its purpose and nature, and its power to inspire us, to stir our emotions and to help us see beyond the limits of our world. A significant contribution to the understanding of non-objectivism in art, this book serves as an important landmark in modern art history and is necessary reading for every artist and art-lover.” (From the Penguin Classics edition). “In this remarkable book, anticipating “the spiritual turning-point” Kandinsky reflects on his understanding of progress in this direction. This is not a process that would happen automatically. It requires a lot of work and implies a great responsibility of both artist and viewer. The task of the artist is to find “the principle of the innermost necessity” that he or she can use through expressive means to achieve the goal, “vibration of the human soul.” Using captivating analogies, Kandinsky dwells at length on the artistic means: the psychology of color, the compositional interrelation of forms, etc. However, the main goal of an artist still remains to find that very innermost necessity”, that is based on the spiritual foundations of the individual. In his or her turn, the work of the viewer is to find within him- or herself the purity of perception, which, at this level, does not relate to the beauty of nature. The ideal imitation of nature as the summit point of artistic mastery has remained in the past. The impressions of impressionists, the emotions of expressionists, the experiments of cubists - all these stages have long been passed, and now the task of the viewer is to see the beauty of pure color and pure shape. Kandinsky anticipates the emergence of abstract art as the purest form of influence on the human soul, and views the future optimistically, foretelling the upcoming emergences of the epoch of great spirituality.” (from Sadler’s English translation)

London, Printed by Andrew Clark for Robert Scott, 1675. Folio (375 x 245 mm). In contemporary full calf with six raised bands and double ruled fillets to boards. Small paper-label pasted on to top of spine. Wear to extremities, leather on hinges split, showing the cords and boards underneath. With loss of leather to spine-ends and corners. Front free end-paper with annotations in contemporary hand. Previous owner's name in contemporary hand to title-page. Internally nice and clean. (4), LV, (4), 1013, (3) pp. The rare first edition of Hacket’s posthumously published sermons. John Hacket (1592–1670) was an English churchman and academic. He was born in London and educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Oxford. He later became the president of Trinity College, Oxford, in 1630 and was appointed Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry in 1661. Hacket was known for his scholarship, particularly in theology, and for his support of the Anglican Church during a period of political and religious upheaval in England. He wrote several works on religious and historical subjects, including a biography of the poet John Donne. Hacket played a significant role in the religious and intellectual life of his time. “In addition to the Latin play of ‘Loyola’ and his great work on the life of Archbishop Williams, a small work entitled ‘Christian Consolations’ (1671, republished 1840) has been incorrectly attributed to Hacket. ‘A Century of Sermons on several remarkable subjects’ was edited, with a memoir, by Thomas Plume in 1675. In company with Ben Jonson he translated Bacon’s ‘Essays’ into Latin. His skill in using the Latin tongue was considerable, and his reading was varied and extensive. His biographer admits that he was of a hasty and choleric temper, but very quickly reconciled to any who had offended him. His quarrel with Dean Wood, who afterwards succeeded him as bishop, and was suspended for simoniacal practices, caused, according to Pepys, considerable scandal, but the bishop enjoyed high estimation in the opinion of all good men. He married Elizabeth, daughter of W. Stebbing of Soham, Suffolk ; and after her death in 1638, Frances, daughter of Mr. Bennet of Cheshire, and widow of Dr. Bridgman, prebendary of Chester. He had several children. His eldest son, Andrew, was knighted, and was a master in chancery; he erected a recumbent effigy to his father’s memory in Lichfield Cathedral. There is an engraving of this tomb and also of a portrait of Hacket in ‘A Century of Sermons.” (apuritansmind).

Copenhagen, Institute for Theoretical Physics, 1955. Small folio (A4). Stapled, unbound. Stenciled manuscript. Edges a bit bumped. A bit of spotting to first leaf. 48 numbered leaves with printing on rectos only. Illustrated. One of the few scarce original stenciled copies of the "Journal of Jocular Physics, Vol. III," the 1955-volume of the privately circulated amateur-comedy-journal that Bohr's students made on the occasions of Bohr's most important birthdays (beginning with his 50th in 1935), in this case his 70th. The "Journal" is an eclectic blend of funny and clever stories, songs, poems, aphorisms, humorous descriptions of recent developments in physics, etc., all written in an informal tone with the underlying subject being Bohr's birthday.Since 1929 most of the greatest physicists of the 20th century had been gathering around Niels Bohr for a conference in Copenhagen at the Bohr Institute. Since 1931 this conference had also included a skit prepared by the youngest of the participants, the "Copenhagen Faust" of 1932 being the most famous and important of them. It is this skit that later develops into the "Journal of Jocular Physics" which was prepared and compiled for Bohr's 50th, 60th and 70th birthdays, the first in 1935, the second in 1945, and the third (the present) in 1955. The 1955 "Jocular Physics" was the last of them. "The early decades of the present century witnessed the heady development of the Quantum Theory of the atom, and during that era the roads of theoreticians of all nationalities led, not to Rome, but to Copenhagen, the home city of Niels Bohr, who was the first to formulate the correct atomic model. It became customary at the end of each spring conference at Blegdamsvej 15 (the street address of Bohr's Institute of Theoretical Physics) to produce a stunt pertaining to recent developments in physics.However Copenhagen was also the home of abundant humor. As a respite from the intensive and highly competitive efforts taking place to characterize fundamental interactions on an atomic scale, physicists took the time to develop satirical letters, articles, plays and other works." (Gamow, Thirty Years that Shook Physics, pp. 167-68).In his Report at the Niels Bohr Archive Symposium, "Copenhagen' and beyond: Drama meets history of science", Yu.V. Gaponov accounts for the history of "physical art": "The 1950s and 1960s were the golden age of the utmost prosperity in Physics. The atomic revolution having opened for the scientists a new world of quanta led soon to the nuclear fission discovery and to the first steps in techniques to dominate the atomic energy. The realization of national atomic programs which first took place in USA and then in Russia (USSR) and Great Britain had attracted the whole world's attention and placed Physics and the natural sciences in general in a top position. Being concerned with matters of physics became then exclusive and prestigious and physicists as individuals attracted the society's attention. They became heroes of literature, theater, movies, press. This process was observed in many advanced countries. It was also typical for the former USSR of those times, although owing to special social circumstances it had acquired some particular forms. One such form was the creation of "Physical Art" traditions... The birth of these traditions is commonly associated with the appearance at MSU PhysFac in 1960 of a Student Humor Festival called "Birthday of Archimedes" (later "Physics Day") along with a comic buffoonery opera "Archimedes" (authors - physicists and poets V. Kaner, V. Milyaev). However, MSU physicists consider the "Physical Art" traditions to have started earlier. Here are some remarkable milestones: In 1932 the well known "Faust" jocular opera and in 1935 the special issue of the "Jocular Physics" journal were written by some eminent physicists in connection with the 50th birthday of Niels Bohr."The present 1955-volume contains numerous very funny contributions by physicists around Bohr, all based on physics humour, physics word-games etc. We have for instance "A Voyage to Laplacia" by L. Rosenfeld, a "Confidential" report "Standardization of (physics) Papers" by J. Lindhard,"Broken English" by H.B.G. Casimir ("There exists today a universal language that is spoken and understood almost everywhere: it is Broken English. I am not referring to Pidgin English a highly formalized and restricted branch of B.E. but to the much more general language that is used by waiters in Hawai, prostitutes in Paris and ambassadors in Washington, by business-men from Buenos Aires, by scientists at international meetings and by dirty-postcard-peddlers in Greece, in short honourable people like myself all over the world..." (p. 14), aphorisms (like: "One Bohr can answer more questions than 10 philosophers can ask", ""I will have to sleep on that" the physicist said, he lay down on the floor", etc.), "A Remarkable "V-event"" by M. Sheep, "The Heart on the other Side" by G. Gamow (""But father will never give his consent... He is looking for a son-in-law who can help him in his business, and eventually take it over. You can't possibly qualify for that, can you?" "No, I guess I can't," agreed Stan Situs sadly. "I cannot possibly see how the kind of mathematics I am doing or, in fact, ANY kind of mathematics can help the production and selling of shoes..."), the poem "The Atom that Bohr Built", etc. The "Journal of Jocular Physics" is an important document portraying both one of the main physical centres of this physically important period and how one of the greatest scientific minds of the 20th century was viewed by his students and collaborators - as being not only brilliant in his field of research but also as a funny, likeable and sympathetic person. See also:Gino Segrè. Faust in Copenhagen. A Struggle for the Soul of Physics and the Birth of the Nuclear Age."Pimlico, 2008.George Gamow. Thirty Years that Shook Physics. The Story of Quantum Theory. New York, 1966.

Paris, Gauthier-Villars, 1905. 4to. No wrappers. In: "Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de L'Academie des Sciences", Tome 140, No 23. Titlepage to vol. 140. Pp. (1497-) 1572. (Entire issue offered). Poincaré's paper: pp. 1504-1508. Titlepage with a stamp on verso. A bit of upper right corner gone. Leaves a bit fragile, caused by the poor paperquality. Clean. First printing of this famous paper delivered to the Academy of Paris on its session of June 1905, as the first Poincaré relativistic text "On the dynamic of electron", where Poincaré set forth the essential element of relativity and the "Lorentz Transformation". Poincaré concludes "It seems that this impossibility of demonstrating absolute motion is a general law of nature" !! and that Newton's law need modification and that there should exist gravitational waves which propagate with the velocity of light !! - This famous paper gave rice to the controversy about priority around the discovery of special relativity as Poincaré's paper is from June 5 and Einstein's first paper on relativity was received by the "Annalen" on June 30, both 1905."The official history tells us that Einstein, without having read the works of Lorentz and Poincaré past 1895 and without any prior publication on the subject, had written alone in Bern the "founder paper" of the Relativity in the last days of June 1905. For that reason, and a few other of less importance, the biographers of Einstein have called that year 1905 "Annus mirabilis" and its centenial is celebrated in 2005. However on June 5, 1905, after many other papers on this subject, Poincaré had presenteda note at the French Academy of Science, a text that contains the essential elements of Einstein paper: the relativity principle and the "Lorentz transformation". This coincidence involves the suspicion of a possible plagiarism of Poincaré by Einstein." (C. Marchal "Poincaré, Einstein and the Relativity: the Surprising Secret."

Kbh. (Copenhagen), Sebastian Popp, 1796 - 99. 8vo. Bound in six cont. uniform hcalfs w. gilt title- and tome-labels on backs, backs w. gilt lines. Backs and corners w. traces of use, but a fine and clean copy on good paper (skrivepapir). XXX, 336; (8), 346; 368; 372; 352; XXVI, 324 pp. Rare first edition of the first Danish translation of Rousseau's monumental work (Emilius, or an Essay on Education), being one of the absolutely most important and influential works on education. Virtually no work has had as great an impact on paedagogics as this one. Being one of the most influential thinkers of the 18th century, Rousseau is considered one of the indirect causes of the French Revolution. In Rousseau one certainly finds one of the most influential spokesmen for 18th century thought, and it is primarily the thoughts of him and Voltaire that are put into action with the Revolution. Not only in France can the effects of his philosophy and thoughts on upbringing and education be clearly seen; -his ideas were of decisive character to the generation of artists, writers, poets, philosophers etc. in the beginning to middle of the 19th century, which seminally affects Danish thought, as it is in this period that our most important and famous cultural personas are being influenced (e.g. H.C. Andersen and Søren Kierkegaard); thus this first Danish translation is of great importance and interest. In Danish literature there is talk about the Rousseauan spirit, and it is in this spirit that the entire literary production of H.C. Andersen can be viewed, -directly or indirectly. Rousseau's three main thoughts in Émile - on the childlike, on the natural and on simple religious faith - fits like a glove on the main messages and morals of H.C. Andersen's works.Søren Kierkegaard is known to have owned a copy of Rousseau's Émile in French as well as a copy of this first Danish translation (see "Auktionsprotokol over Søren Kierkegaards Bogsamling" no. 941-43). As opposed to H.C.A., though, the philosophy and educational program of Rousseau does not correspond with the Christianity of Kierkegaard, who, however, quotes and comments on R. and his writings on several occasions in his diaries.In Émile, Rousseau poses an entirely new approach to education and the upbringing of children. His thoughts were exceedingly controversial, the work was burnt by the executioner immediately after its first appearance and Rousseau had to flee the country due to a warrant for his arrest. There is no need to say that these new thoughts were also widely influential on Danish thought, and this especially after the appearance of the Danish translation (34-37 years after the French original). Not only Kierkegaard and H.C.A. were influenced by this great thinker, so were the likes of Ingemann, one of our greatest poets."The first and last of these (i.e. Héloise and Émile), with their sentimental expression of deism, gave much offence, and Rousseau, like Voltaire, was forced to flee to Prussia. Restless and locally unpopular, he fled again to England, where he had a great welcome. Hume, who had offered him asylum, looked after him patiently..." (PMM 207, Printing and the Mind of Man). Bibliotheca Danica IV:1004.

London, Printed by John Nichols; For Buckland, Rivington and Sons etc etc., 1790. Small 8vo. Bound in 73 full mottled calf. Some top of spines with tears, richly gilt spines with tome-and titlelabels, some of these torn. Backs with some wear. Having 29 engraved portraits.

Paris, 1936. 8vo. Bound uncut with the original printed green and grey wrappers, also the backstrip, in an exquisite dark green morocco binding with gilt horizontal (author, place, year) and vertical (title, in large capitals) lettering to spine and beautiful lacquered marbled green and grey paper laid in on boards, covering all but a "frame" of ab. 3 mm. Top edge gilt. Gilt super-ex libris to inside of front board, the bottom of which is signed in gilt: "J-P Miguet". Housed in a green paper slip-case with green morocco edges. Near mint copy. (4), 162, (2, -Table) pp. First edition of Sartre's first book, of which no numbered or large paper copies were printed, and which only appeared thus. Published when Sartre was 30 years old, "L'Imagination" constitutes his first full philosophical work and the first presentation of his basic arguments concerning phenomenology, consciousness and intentionality, which he later developed in full, and which came to have a profound influence on 20th century philosophy.Sartre, who on the title-page is described as "professeur au lycée du Havre", was requested to write the present work by Professor H. Delacroix, who was the supervisor on his dissertation. Before establishing his central arguments about "Imagination", Sartre famously criticizes earlier theories of imagination, in particular those of Descartes, Leibnitz, and Hume. He goes on to discussing psychological theories of imagination, including Bergson - the critique of whom offended for instance Meeau-Ponty, who otherwise praised Sartre's book. Finally, Sartre provides a highly important interpretation of Husserl's theory of imagination, which foreshadows the phenomenological way of understanding imagination that was to dominate the decades to come. As thus, the work constitutes an important work in the history of phenomenology. and of 20th century philosophy.Contat & Rybalka: 36/8