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Halle, Max Niemeyer, 1913 + 1923. Ideen: 4to. Orig. full brown cloth w. gilt spine. Professionally rebacked preserving almost all of the original back. Wear to capitals, corners, and hinges. End-papers renewed. Internally very nice and clean. VIII, 323, (1) pp. Sachregister: 4to. Reddish simple cloth boards. Internally nice and clean. 60 pp. The scarce first edition, off-print, of Husserl's second main work, his seminal "Ideas", which constitutes the founding text of Constitutive Phenomenology and the work, in which Husserl introduces his groundbreaking notion of "epoché". It was due to this work that he was able to secure himself the position as Professor in Freiburg (from 1916-1928). Also present is the first edition of the rarely seen subject index to the "Ideen" by Gerda Walther.Although the work is called "Ideen I", there is no doubt as to its status as a separate work. Husserl did not publish his Ideen II and III in his lifetime, and they were only published posthumously, both in 1952. They have had none of the impact that the "Ideen I" had, and they are considered to be works in their own right too, although much less interesting.When Husserl published his "Logical Investigations" in 1900-1901, he changed the face of philosophy and founded the new philosophy of the 20th century: Phenomenology. In the Logical Investigations, Husserl began by attacking Psychologism and then went on to introduce his new philosophical method, which only then saw the light of day, and which only becomes fully developed later on. In 1900-01 he asks the question of the essence of the matter of perception as opposed to the form of perception. In his "Ideen", he extends his scope to include philosophy of the natural sciences, and he reflects thoroughly on the method of transcendental phenomenological epohé and reduction. He thus takes a new turn on conscious life and the pre-given status of it. This can no longer be accepted as something that exists in the world as the final guarantee for the world and the positive sciences of it. We must distinguish between the act of consciousness and the phenomena at which it is directed, in order to study the very structure of consciousness. All assumptions about the existence of the external world must be suspended, in order to achieve knowledge of the essences. It is this procedure that Husserl calls "epoché", and the constitutive phenomenology, which is founded in this work, is something that comes to characterize the rest of Husserl's works.Husserl is now famous as the father of phenomenology, and he decisively influenced the likes of Heidegger, Sartre, Carnap, Merleau-Ponty, Levinas, Ricoeur, Derrida etc. etc.

Lancaster, American Institute of Physics, 1956. Lex8vo. Volume 104, October 1, No. 1, 1956 of "The Physical Review", Second Series. Entire volume offered. In the original printed blue wrappers. Minor bumping and sunning to extremities, otherwise a fine and clean copy. Pp. 254-58. [Entire issue: Pp. (2), 272 pp.]. First printing of Yang and Lee's seminal and topic-creating paper which proved that parity is not conserved in weak interactions. "The discovery of parity nonconservation contributed to a general change in the intellectual climate of fundamental physics, leading to a tendency to question the absolute validity of other conservation laws as well." (Kragh, Quantum Generations, pp. 318-9). Before 1956, the general belief was that parity conservation is never violated in nature, a firm paradigm that was not challenged until the publication of the present paper. Chen Ning Yang and Tsung-Dao Lee were awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics "for their penetrating investigation of the so-called parity laws which has led to important discoveries regarding the elementary particles". Lee is the youngest Nobel laureate after WWII. It had earlier been suggested that parity might not be conserved but noone had been able to put forth compelling evidence. A careful review by Lee and Yang went further, showing that while parity conservation had been verified in decays by the strong or electromagnetic interactions, it was untested in the weak interaction. They proposed several possible direct experimental tests.When Lee and Yang's paper appeared in 1956, physicists were not immediately swept away by their ground breaking conclusions. The physicist Freeman Dyson wrote of his reaction to the paper: "A copy of it was sent to me and I read it. I read it twice. I said, `This is very interesting,' or words to that effect. But I had not the imagination to say, `By golly, if this is true it opens up a whole new branch of physics.' And I think other physicists, with very few exceptions, at that time were as unimaginative as I." Wolfgang Pauli wrote to Weisskopf after reading the paper: "Now after the first shock is over, I begin to collect myself. Yes, it was very dramatic. I am shocked not so much by the fact that the Lord prefers the left hand as by the fact that He still appears to be left-right symmetric when he expresses Himself strongly." (Kragh, Quantum Generations, pp. 319).The presented theory paved the way for a reconsideration of physical theories and led to new, far-reaching discoveries regarding the nature of matter and the universe. The removal of the restrictions imposed by parity law brought order to the theoretical chaos that existed with regard to subatomic particles elementary particles seen in cosmic rays and particle accelerator experiments were understood to be manifestations of the strong and weak nuclear interactions. Eventually the better understanding of their characteristics has led to a more unified theory of the fundamental universal forces of nature.

Paris, Baudouin, An 6 (1798). 8vo. Nice cont. full mottled calf. Richly gilt back. Light wear to lower part of back and a small hole in leather at lower hinge. Red leather titlelabel. XVI,710 pp. and 14 engraved plates with many figs. A large clean copy. First edition of Cuvier's first work on comparative zoology, in which he showed the affinities in structure between present forms of animals, researches which resulted in comparison with older forms and thereby for other theorists suggested evolutionary lines and links. Cuvier is considered as the founder of modern palaeontology by this and his later published work "Recherches sur les ossemens fossiles..."Cuvier's first separate work, "Tableau..." (1798), is based on a course of lectures he had delivered at l'Ecole du Pantheon. It was the first general statement of his natural classification of the animal kingdom...He establishd the four great classes (vertebrates, molluscs, articulates, and radiates) and classified the animals according to the anatomical structure." (Milestone of Science No. 44). - Wood p. 307.

2 blade 4to. Titelbl. som ovenfor beskrevet. Selve digtet fylder 2 1/2 side og består af fem vers m. 8 linier i hvert. Enkelte rettelser med overstregninger. Ud over rettelserne er der en enkelt afvigelse fra den trykte version: Vers 4, linie 6 står: "De Piger saa villige fandt:" i stedet for det trykte: "De Skiønne saa villige fandt:". Vedlagt Kjøbenhavns Morgenblad, Anden Aargang, No. 113-14. Løverdagen den 24de September 1826, hvor digtet er trykt første gang.Optaget i Oehlenschlägers Poetiske Skrifter, XXI, 1860, pp. 86-87. Liebenberg I:125.

Boston, Ticknor and Fields, 1866. Orig. Red-brown full cloth w. gilt ornamented title to front board and back. Capitals worn, bdg. w. some soiling. Internally occational brownspotting. W. the frontispiece-portrait of Whittier and woodcut title-vignette. Old owner's name on front free end-paper ("Minne Brockett/ 1866/ New Haven"). First edition, first issue w. the page number at the foot of page 52 (dropped in the second issue). Whittier's most famous book and a main work of 19th century American litterature. John Greenlef Whittier (1807-1892) was a highly estimeted Quaker poet, in the honour of whom several New England states had holidays, and after whom the State Whittier, California is named. He was a forceful antislavery crusader, who fought hard for the abolition of slavery in America, and he was immensely popular in his lifetime. The first issue is quite scarce. "No poem has ever been read aloud with greater appreciation around the fireplace than this simple sincere photographic depiction of a country New England family and New England household life of the first half of the nineteenth century. Few lines have afforded more solace in time than the passage on p. 21 beginning: "Alas for him who never sees/ The stars shine through his cypress trees!". (One Hundred Influential American Books Printed before 1900 No. 73).

Kolombo (Colombo, Sri Lanka), 1821. 8vo. Original blank blue wrappers. Some brownspotting (due to the paper quality). (2),16 pp. First (and only) edition of the first Singalese grammar in a Western language, Rask's highly importent work, in which he "identified Sinhalese as a speech belonging to the same class as Sanskrit and added that Tamil belonged to quite a different class. Since then the subject has been studied and discusses by various scholars, and it is established beyond doubt that Sinhalese is an Indo-Aryan language."Rasmus Rask is one of the absolutely most prominent and famous Danish philologers and is very well esteemed worldwide. He was the first to systematically study the ancient Nordic languages and is the discoverer of the relations between the consonants in the Indo-European languages. This discovery served as the foundation of the rules Jacob Grimm later formulated, underlying the Germanic and High-German soundshifts. In PMM, Rask is identified as "one of the founders of the modern science of language." (PMM 266).

Paris, Paul Dupont, 1851-52. Royal8vo a. Large 4to. Bound in 4 uniform contemp. hcalf. Gilt spines and with gilt lettering. Stamp on title-pages. Light wear to edges of atlas-volume. XIV,(2),532;(4),604;(2),VII,392,(2) pp. Atlasvolume: Engraved title-page. (6) pp. and 57 engraved plates depicting numerous landfalls. Internally clean and fine. First edition.

[No place], 1788. 8vo. Bound in a recent full blue paper binding w. paper title-label to front board. Uncut. A bit of minor soiling to title-page, otherwise nice and clean. 51 pp. The scarce first edition of this interesting book on games of chance and the theory of probability connected thereto. Huyn's profound study of the possible series and combinations within the mentioned games of cards, roulette, lotto, and various other chance- or hazard-games, is based on mathematical theories of statistics. Among other things Huyn, in the present work, shows that it is impossible to win in uneven games and that all attempts to speculate in these are wrong and prove to be false. As such, "La Théorie de hazard" provides us with an important early contribution to the analysis of chance games and a valuable work of very practical probability theory. The present work stands at the midst of a new scientific approach to games of hazard, which also directly influenced the art and manners of trick-games and tricksters. Apart from the mathematical approach to the subject, Huyn also thoroughly explains the rules of the games and even has observations on the moral aspect of them.The work is very rare and is only found in few copies in libraries world-wide, e.g. only two copies on OCLC. Another edition of the book appeared in 1803, printed in Amsterdam.

Kjøbenhavn, Forfatterens forlag, 1856 (+ 1879). Folio. Samt lidt slidt hldrbd med forgyldt ryg samt forfatternavn på forpermen i guldtryk. 61tavler + 35 tavler + 8 tavler + 1 tavle (ialt 105 tavler). (numm. I-LV (LIV-LV mrk. Supplementtavle)) + (1ste. Suppl. Tab. 1-9), + (Suppl. 10), + (1.ste. Suppl. 11-35), + (2det.Suppl. Tab.1-8) + (Ny Tavle III (Collin, 1888.)). Alle tavler håndkolorerede. Enkelte tavler lidt brunplettede, men alle i god stand og smukt kolorerede. Anker 247, 250 samt 251. Kollationeringen stemmer ikke overens med nogen af de i Anker nævnte udgaver af Kjærbøllings værk, og må derfor formodes at være en senere sambinding af de 3 værker. Første del (I-LV) er sandsynligvis fra udgaven af 1856, mens anden+tredje del stammer fra 1879 udgaven (Supplementes føste tavle er nummereret "1", hvor de i udgaven fra 1856 er nummereret "I" ). Derudover er Ny Tavle III medindbunden (kom først i 1888). De originale titelblade mangler desuden.

Kjöbenhavn (Copenhagen), 1852. 4to. Uncut and unopened in the original blue boards ("hollanderet"). A very fine, fresh, and clean copy - near mint, with only a bit of minor sunning to boards. 51 pp. First edition, off-print, of the seminal paper that contains the first enunciation of the thermochemical affinity principle and the introduction of the term "varmetoning". The present paper represents Thomsen's main work as well as the "(to use Oswald's words) scientific creed of the chemist for the next half-century. It constituted the only method by which chemists could predict the course of chemical reactions, and Thomsen himself employed the theory in various ways to carry out calculations of this kind." (Brøndsted in: Meisen edt., Prominent Danish Scientists Through the Ages, p. 143). This breakthrough work, which contains the first statement of a thermochemical nomenclatura and the first definition and presentation of the thermochemical affinity principle, inaugurated a several decades long period of thermochemical studies, during which Thomsen personally carried out more than 3,500 calorimetric measurements in a room kept at 18 degrees celcius. His fundamental thought was that the evolution of heat accompanying a chemical reaction ("varmetoning") is an exact expression of the chemical affinity of the reaction. Bethelot reached many of the same conclusions a bit later and advanced a theory that in essence was the same as Thomsen's. This led to heated discussions that continued for several years between the two scientists. Thomsen's principle is now usually known as the Thomsen-Berthelot-Principle. In 1883, the Davy Medal was awarded in duplicate, to "M. Marcellin Berthelot, Member of the Institute of France, and Foreign Member of the Royal Society, and Prof. Julius Thomsen, of Copenhagen", although Berthelot was obviously preceded by Thomsen. "The importance of Thomsen's scientific work was rapidly recognized in both Denmark and abroad. In 1860 he was elected member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters. Nine years later he was nominated as professor of physical chemistry at the University of Leipzig, but he refused the offer. Many foreign scientists asked to work under his guidance, but he was afraid that the comparability of the results obtained would be endangered when more than one person performed such measurements and therefore refused all such requests. Thus no school was formed around him. Thomsen was a foreign member of various academies and honorary member of learned societies, and held honorary doctorates from several universities (but not in France, because of the conflict with Berthelot)." (D.S.B. XIII:359)."Julius Thomsen's international reputation is due largely to his thermochemical studies. He began to work on thermochemical problems in 1850, and in 1852 he published in the "Videnskabernes Selskabs Skrifter" a paper entitled "Bidrag til et thermochemisk System" ["Contributions to a thermochemical System"], in which he outlined the scheme of his subsequent thorough investigations in this field. This paper contains the first enunciation of the thermochemical affinity principle, which states that chemical affinity, or the attraction between substances, can be measured by the heat evolved when they combine.Ideas as to the nature and laws of chemical affinity were by no means lacking at this period, but the prevalent views were vague, hypothetical and mutually irreconcilable. The great importance of Julius Thomsen's principle when compared with earlier speculations lies not only in its fundamental theoretical ideas, which associate chemical and mechanical phenomena, but also in the fact that the conception of affinity is related to a measurable quantity, the "Varmetoning" - a term which Julius Thomsen introduced to include both evolution and absorption of heat - and thus is easily accessible to experimental investigation." (Brøndsted in: Meisen edt., Prominent Danish Scientists Through the Ages, p. 143).

Paris, Estienne Michallet, Se vend à Bruxelles chez Jean Leonard, 1688. Later (ca. 1800) cardboardbdg. w. marbled peper. Library-labels on back. Hinges, capitals and corners w. traces of use. Occationally brownspotted. (56), 226, (1) pp. This is the reimpression of the original second edition with the words "Se vend à Bruxelles, chez Jean Leonard" on title-page, from the same year as the first original edition. "Cette réimpression, assez belle, a 28 ff. prélim. et 226 pp. de texte, plus un f. pour le privilége; l'errata n'y est pas reproduit, bien que les corrections qu'il indique n'aient pas été faites dans le texte." (Brunet III, p.720). This work includes the first French translation of Theophrast's Characters (and probably the first translation into any modern language?). "Theophraste a eu le grand honneur, comme on sait, d'être ttraduit au XVIIe siècle par La Bruyère: et c'est pourquoi, en France plus que dans tout autre pays, en dehors même du cercle des érudits, son nom et son opuscule sont populaires." (navarre, Budé-edition of "Caractères", Paris, 1920).Jean de la Bruyère (1639/1644 - 1996) was a very famous French moralist and writer. "C'est au commencement de 1688 que parut la premiere édition des "Caractères de Théophraste traduits du grec, ou les Mæurs de ce siècle." L'auteur mettait ses propres observations sur la société moderne sous le patronage d'un ancien." (N.B.G. p. 427). The "Characters" gave La Bruyère quite a few enemies and created furor in the learned world. In Denmark Holberg calls him "trivial and simple" (Epistle 404). "Mais si en effet la malignité contemporaine, applaudissant aux traits satiriques de l'ouvrage, a peu contribuer à sa vogue, le jugement de la postérité l'a consacré comme un des meilleurs livres de notre langue." (N.B.G. p. 427). This work is thus still considered to be one of the greatest French books. Voltaire writes in "Siecle de Louis XIV, c. XXXII": "On peut compter parmi les productions d'un genre unique les "Caractères" de La Bruyère. Un style rigide, concis, nerveaux, des expressions pittoresques, un usage tout nouveau de la langue, mais qui n'en bless pas les règles, frappèrent le public". Bruyère's work with the translation really did cause astonishment and had an immense impact on late 17th century Europe and onwards; it created a new litterary genre in Europe, and the age of Enlightenment was delighted with the short, precise characterisations of people and their customs. For an analysis of the contents and the impact on the time of La Bruyère see Nouvelle Biographie Generelle (N.B.G. pp. 426-39). Brunet V:798 + III:721, Graesse 4:61.

Stockholm, Bonniers, (1946). All edges uncut in original printed wrappers w. some minor edge-wear. Internally nice and clean. 137 pp. First Swedish edition, presentation-copy: "A Carl Ericsson/ avec toute ma sympathie/ JPaulS." Printed the same year as the first edition."L'Existentialisme est un Humanisme" is the second of Sartre's two main philosophical works, which have both influenced 20th century philosophy greatly, and contributed immensely to the development of existentialism in general. "Existentialism is a Humanism" became one of Sartre's most widely read and most critcized works, and it caused great controversies and uproar at the time of its appearance; -as opposed to his "L'Être et le Néant", all of Sartre's critics actually read this work, and so did huge parts of the population, causing the book to appear in huge numbers after the publication of the first edition.The work is the literary re-working of an exposition given by Sartre at a conference in October 1945, where he caused a scandalous discussion, which among other things led to the fact that all references to the existentialist T.E. Lawrence were omitted from the work when it appeared in print. "Cette conférence marqua une date dans l'histoire anecdotique de l'existemtialisme..." (Contat & Rybalka p. 131)."L'Existentialisme est un Humanisme" fut l'un des ouvrages les plus lus et les plus critiqués de Sartre et suscita de considérables malentendus. Comme l'a bien vu M.-A. Burnier dans "Les Existentialistes et la politique" (p. 31), "l'importance prise par ces pages semble due à la paresse d'un bon nombre de critiques qui hésitant à lire "L'Être et le Néant" et qui furent heureaux de pouvoir attaquer Sartre sans grande fatique et avec bonne conscience après avoir parcouru 141 pages." Il est bon de rappeler cependant que l'ouvrage constitue une assez mauvaise introduction à la philosophie de Sartre, surtout pour un public non averti..." (Contat & Rybalka p. 132). Sartre himself also disowned great parts of this work, which makes it all the more interesting, since it is the only one of his works of which he has done so. The work was reprinted numerous times during the first years, and immediately translated into several languages. The first edition (on vellum-paper) is very difficult to come by. First edition: Contat & Rybalka 46/88.

London & Naw York, Macmillan and Co, 1888. Small 8vo. Orig. olive full cloth. Spine worn, otherwise fine. Hinges a bit weak. XIII, (3), 142, (2, -advertisements) pp. + 10 folded plates. The rare first edition of this important work on mathematical economics, one of Wicksteed's main works, in which he sets out to solve "some of the most crucial problems of Political Economy on which the foremost Economists have disputed unavailingly for generations for lack of applying the mathematical method. A glance at the "Index of Illustrations" will show that my object is to bring Economics down from the clouds and make the study throw light on our daily doings and experiences, as well as on the great commercial and industrial machinery of the world." (Preface, p. X).Philip Henry Wicksteed (1844-1927) was en English theologian, classicist and medievalist now primarily famous for his contributions to economics. He studied classics at University College in London and Manchester New College and later on became interested in Economics, primarily in an attempt to resolve social problems with the aid of economic theories. He was one of the fist disciples of Jevons and continued his ideas of marginal utility theory. Though not highly influential in his own time, Wicksteed came to influence many great economists of the later generation, e.g. Ludwig von Mises and the "Austrians" of that generation. "I wish that space permitted me to do justice to the personality of Philip Henry Wicksteed (1844-1927) as it radiated upon me, in 1906, during and hour's chat on the lawn in front of his house at Wantage - his repose that owed nothing to callousness, his benevolence that was not weakness, his simplicity that went so well with his refinement, his unassuming modesty that did not lack dignity. As it is, I can merely record that this theologian, who was a lecturer on Dante, stood somewhat outside of the economic profession - one of the reasons why his work, particularly excellent on the pedagogical side, did not leave a more discernible mark." (Schumpeter, History of Economic Analysis, p. 831). His books did sell very poorly at the time of their appearance, which is why several of the early ones on economics are now so rare.He did, however, publish significant economic works, which, though to a large extent based on Jevons' theories, came to stand out as valuable and interesting in themselves. "The general complexion of his system is Jevonian -he was in fact the only Jevonian theorist of note- but he shook off so many old things that still stuck to Jevons' exposition and added so many corrections and developments -partly under Austrian influence- that he may be said to have worked out something that, though of course a revision of the marginal utility system, was his own." (Schumpeter, History of Economic Analysis, p. 832).It was due to his concern for ethics and the ideologies behind the modern commercial society that this excellent theologian turned to economics and tried to make comprehendible the inequalities of wealth and income. He became a lecturer on economics at the University of London in a program intended to teach adults who had not been able to go to university.In this fairly small but important work, Wicksteed aims "at giving what theologians might call a "saving" knowledge of the fundamental proposition of the Theory of Value; for this, but no more than this, is necessary as the first step towards mastering the "alphabet of Economic Science". (Chapter I, p. (1)).

Lwów - Warsczawa, (1936). 8vo. Original printed wrappers. At bit worn around the edges and with minor loss of paper to spine. A few spots to front wrapper. Old owner's name to title-page and a few underlinings (in percil) in the text. Otherwise nice and clean. Pp. 167, (1) The exceedingly scarce first edition of Tarski's classic paper on logic and methodology of Deductive Sciences, published in Polish in Poland only three years after his seminal publication "Pojecie Prawdy w Jezykach Nauk Dedukcyjnych" (Polish). [The Concept of Truth in Formalized Languages]. We are not aware of any copies in this first edition available in any library. His high school and undergraduate teaching on axiomatics and logic culminated in this short paper, first published in Polish, then German and finally in 1941 English. The paper is divided into two principal parts, the first being an introduction to the symbolic treatment of formal logic concluding with a section on the deductive method. The second part, an application of material in the first to the construction of a deductive system for the arithmetic of real numbers.

Berlin, Springer, 1935. Royal8vo. Bound in contemporary half cloth with paper label pasted on to spine. In "Die Naturwissenschaften", Vol 23, 1935. Complete issue offered. Light browning throughout and Schrödinger's paper with underlignings. Pp 807-812; Pp. 823-828; Pp. 844-849. [Entire volume: 870, XIX pp]. First edition and first announcement of Schrödinger's famous reply to the EPR-paradox (also known as Schrödinger's Cat). When in May 1935 Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen published the so-called EPR-paper in "Physical Review", they set out to demonstrate that the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics could not constitute a complete description of nature. The EPR-article prompted a number of responses, e.g. from Bohr, the co-founder of the Copenhagen School, who began writing his response immediately after the publication of the Physical Review article. It is this debate that Schrödinger participates in with his seminal paper on "The Present Situation in Quantum Mechanics", in which he presents what is now famously known as Schrödinger's Cat. Schrödinger's Cat is the name of the thought experiment that Schrödinger develops in this article and that was intended as a discussion of the EPR article.After the publication of the EPR article, Einstein and Schrödinger had begun an exchange of letters on the subject of the possibility of quantum mechanics, as interpreted by the Copenhagenists, representing reality. During this exchange of letters, Schrödinger had been inspired by Einstein's view of the problem of applying the Copenhagen interpretation of Quantum mechanics to everyday objects. But Schrödinger, in his response, took his illustration of the absurdity of the interpretation and the incompleteness of quantum mechanics a step further; he applied it to a living entity, namely a cat. Schrödinger imagines a sealed box containing a cat, a bottle of poison, a radioactive source, a Geiger counter and a hammer. When the Geiger counter detects radiation, a mechanism is switched on that makes the hammer fall; the hammer breaks the bottle, and the poison kills the cat. Because it is random, when the Geiger counter will detect radiation, and because in Quantum mechanics, physical conditions are described with the aid of a wave-function that explains all possible conditions of the system, Quantum mechanics, according to the Copenhagen interpretation, would come to the conclusion that the cat in the box is both living and dead, at the same time (the wave function is made up of a superposition of the two conditions -the cat being living and the cat being dead-; the two positions collapse into one, as soon as the system is interpreted as consisting of only one condition -either dead or living cat-, with the sole possible conclusion that the cat is both). Due to Heisenberg and Bohr's independent interpretation of Quantum theory (the "Copenhagen interpretation), Quantum theory had in 1927 developed in a direction unforeseen by Schrödinger. "Schrödinger was "concerned and disappointed" that this "transcendental, almost physical interpretation of the wave phenomena" had become the "almost universally accepted dogma."" (D.S.B. XII, p. 221). His most famous and widely used attack on this interpretation was that of "Schrödinger's Cat". This paradox of the dead-and-alive cat vigorously illustrated the absurdity of quantum mechanics and what was necessary to describe the states within this system. The thought experiment of Schrödinger's cat turned out to be hugely influential, and has become a standard paradox within both physics and philosophy.

Kjöbenhavn, Brummer, 1804. Meget smukt samt. helbd. af rød saffian m. rygforgyldn. og forgyldte bordurer på permer og alle kanter af permer. Helt guldsnit (gaveindbinding). Kobberst. titelbl. På ekstra fint skrivepapir. Ryg falmet og lidt plettet, lidt brugsspor v. kapitæler og hjørner. Permer lidt plettede. Indvendig helt ren. Den yderst sjældne originaludgave af et af den danske romantiks absolutte hovedværker. Bogen må af Staffeldt have været tiltænkt som foræring, da der ikke kan herske tvivl om, at bindet er en særlig gaveindbinding; den er tillige trykt på særligt fint papir.Digt-værket udkommer året efter Oehlenschlägers monumentale "Digte, 1803", og er på mange måder, både af indre og af ydre, påvirket af disse (eksempelvis de nordiske motiver og folkevisetonen), dog er inspirationen fra de tyske romantikere med Goethe i spidsen størst. Især anden afdeling afslører dog Staffeldt selv som en af vor største romantiske digtere. Den Staffeldske subjektivisme havde den danske samtid ingen forstand på, og digtsamlingen gik så godt som upåagtet hen, -ikke én eneste anmeldelse blev det til, hvilket har resulteret i, at dette digteriske hovedværk, trods dets kanoniske status, er overordentligt svært at opdrive i dag.Bogen har tilhørt Ole Vinding og er foræret ham d. "4-1-39" Har tillige tilhørt Bent W. Dahlstrøm og bærer både hans store og hans lille ex libris på inderside af hhv. for- og bagperm.

Paris, Bachelier, 1838 a. 1840. 4to. No wrappers. In: "Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de L'Academie des Sciences", Tome 7, No 19 and Tome 10, No 17/18. Pp. (769-) 803 a. pp. (671-) 717. (Entire issues offered). Bessel's papers: pp. 785-793 a. pp. 703-710. Some scattered brownspots. First appearance of a milestone paper in astronomy, giving the solution of the great problem of distances in the universe which had baffled astronomers ever since the time of Copernicus, announcing the FIRST SUCCESSFUL DISPLACEMENT OR PARALLAX OF A FIXED STAR and hence deducing the FIRST RELIABLE DISTANCE OF THE EARTH TO A FIXED STAR. The parallax observed corresponded to ab. 600.000 times that of the earth from the sun. On these grounds Bessel calculated the distance to about 11 light years, and this was confirmed by fresh investigations by Bessel in 1839-40 (the second paper offered). In 1842-43 it was also confirmed by C.A.F. Peters at Pulkowa. It is the first published instance of the fathom-line thrown into celestial space.Bessel communicated his observations in Comptes Rendus, in a letter to Humboldt (the offered paper dated Nov. 5, 1838), in "Monthly Notices" in letter to J. Herschel, and in "Astronomische Nachrichten" Vol. 16, No 365-66 (pp. 65-96), 1838), where a more detail account was published.Ther paper "Bestimmung der Entfernung des 61sten Stern des Schwans" in "Astronomische Nachrichten" is dated at the end: Altona 1838, Dec. 13.Bessel's investigation was hailed by John Herschel when Bessel was awarded the R.A.S. gold medal "The greatest and most glorious triumph which practical astronomy has ever witnessed". "For determining the parallax of 61 Cygni, Bessel selected two comparison stars of magnitude 9-10 at distances of roughly eight and twelve minutes of arc. 61 Cygni is a physical double star whose components differ in brightness by less than one magnitude. The distance of sixteen seconds of arc between the components favored the accuracy of the determination of the parallax because pointing could be carried out with two star images. After observing for eighteen months, by the fall of 1838 Bessel had enough measurements for the determination of a reliable parallax. He found that p = 0.314? with a mean error of ±:0.020?. This work was published in the Astronomische Nachrichten (1838), the first time the distance of a star became known. Bessel’s value for the parallax shows excellent agreement with the results obtained by extensive modern photographical parallax determinations,..." (DSB).Parkinson "Breakthroughs" 1838 A. - Shapley & Howarth "A Source Book in Astronomy", pp. 216 ff.

Milano, Marelli, 1784. 8vo. Bound uncut in a fine later hvellum, spine gilt and gilt lettering to titlelabel. Engraved titlepage with an engraved illustration of different kinds of lightening experiments a la Franklin. XIV,304 pp. a. 1 folded engraved plate showing how to install lightening conductors on buildings. One engraved vignette and 1 fine engraved initial. Internally clean and fine, a wide-margined copy. Scarce first edition of Landriani's large work on the funcioning of lightning conductors, on natural and artificial electricity, the Franklin experiments, and lightening-rods, which also includes a collection of letters from de Saussure, Toaldo and others, here printed for the first time. At the end a comprehensive catalogue of European buildings on which lightning rods were installed: "Catalogo dei Conduttori Elettrice"."Landriani's name is repeatedly linked to Volta's inventions (from the electrophorus to the pile) and especially to the eudiometer. The term (derived from the Greek "eudia" ("fair weather") was first used by Landriani in the "Recherche" to indicate the instrument he had devised to measure the purity of the air.....Volta transformed the instrument, assigning it new tasks. In 1777 the eudiomter entered the history of science as a valued instrument for the analyzing of gases." (DSB VII, 620-21).Wheeler Gift No. 523.

Kbhvn., 1748. Stor 4to. Samt. hellæder med ophøjede bind på ryg. Ryg med professionel reparation. Rig rygforgyldning (lidt slidt). (14), 368 pp. På skrivepapir. Kobberst. frontisp. samt 109 kobberst. plancher. Svag skjold nederst på de sidste 30 sider. Det store Københavns-prospect krøllet og med reparation i foldning. Tekst på dansk, tysk, fransk. Thura's monumentale Københavns-beskrivelse i originaltrykket.

Leipzig, Gerhard Fleischer d. Jüng., 1802-13. 12mo. Bound in 16 contemp. hcalf. Spines gilt, titlelabels with gilt lettering. Some wear to spines, corners and edges. Spine ends frayed and some volumes with small nicks to spine ends. Traces of use. Stamps on titles. Around 5000 pp. With 170 (of 175) mostly folded engraved plates and 11 large folded maps. Some scattered brownspots and browning throughout.

Bremen, Hermann Jäger, 1730. 4to. Samt. velbevaret helpergamentsbd. Titelblad trykt i rød/sort. (32),454,200,(16) pp. samt 35 kobberstukne plancher, heraf det store Danmarkskort og grundtegningen af København. Kortene med et par smårifter, uden tab. Stort godt eksemplar. Originaludgaven af forløberen for "Danske Atlas" indeholder en udførlig beskrivelse af kongeriget og Slesvig i topografisk, historisk og politisk henseende.

Paris, L'imprimerie Royale, 1824. 4to a. large Folio (56 x 45 cm.). Textvolume bound in contemp. hcalf. Richly gilt spine, slightly rubbed. Wear to corners. Atlas bound in contemp. modest hcloth with some nicks, gilt titlelabel on frontcover. (4),290,(2) pp. Atlas: Title-page and 17 lithographed plates (1 in double-folio). Text clean, printed on good paper, a few minor brownspots. Plates spotted, mainly the first plates and title-page. First edition of this pioneer-study of the first generation of marine engines.

Paris, Didot, 1757. 4to. Contemp. full mottled calf. Raised bands. Richly gilt compartments. Titlelabel with gilt lettering. Triple gilt line-boders on covers. Spineends with small repairs. Corners restored. Marbled edges. On both covers a large gilt royal coat of arms (Louis XV ?). Stamp on title-page. Engraved title-page (and printed). (6),471 pp., 4 engraved handcoloured maps (of 5) and 35 fine engraved townviews and plans in the text. A few small scattered brownspots. printed on good paper, internally fine. First edition.

Paris, G. Masson, (No year but presumably 1871). 4to. Cont. hcalf. Top edge gilt. Raised bands, gilt back. Head a. foot of spine frayed. Hinges repaired for splitting. Titlepage and 105 pp. with explanation to each plate. Titlepage somewhat brownspotted. With 105 fine chromolithographed plates, among these are 11 showing surgical instruments. Plates "Dessiné et Lithogr. dap. nat. par Emile Beau". Plates ocassional a little brownspotted. This fine atlas, the first edition, is wholly devoted to obstetrics.

Frankfurt am Main, Johann David Sauerländer, 1829. Cont. marbled boards. A paper-label pasted on front cover with handwritten title. Backstrip a little torn and with repairs. XII,189 pp. and 3 tables. Light yellowing to leaves. Scarce first German edition of this principal contribution to The Theory of Numbers, and it is the first work at all to be devoted exclusively to this subject. It introduced the symbol "a/p", still used to express the law of reciprocity.