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Paris, 1778. 8vo. Contemporary full mottled calf with five raised bads to gilt spine. Old paper label to top of spine. Overall wear to extremities, especially top capital. Light brownspotting. XII, 582, (2) pp. Scarce first French edition of Rosenstein's pioneering work on paediatrics, the founding work on modern paediatrics and "the most progressive which had yet been written". "[I]t gave an impetus to research which influenced the future course of paediatrics... The "Underrättelser" (the original Swedish title) were originally published in the calendars of the Academy and were later collected and issued in book form in 1764." (G&M)Garrison & Morton: 6323.

London, William Mackenzie, (1879). Small folio. Bound in 2 fine original pictorial full brown cloth. Richly gilt spines and front covers. Very light wear to spine ends. 2 corners on frontcover on volume one a bit bumped. 2 half-titles, 2 title-pages. XXVI, 204 pp. and all 41 chromolithographic plates, all with tissue-guards, 64 woodengravings in the text. Internally clean and fine. First edition of this beautifully illustrated work on English fresh-water fishes, with both plates and text in fine clean condition. All fishes depicted within detailled settings and backgrounds. Nissen ZBI: 2009. - Wood p. 391.

Amsterdam, Henry Wetstein, 1688. Small8vo. In contemporary full vellum with title in contemporary hand to spine. Small paper-label pasted on to top of spine. Light wear to extremities, internally nice and clean. (10), 139, (5) pp. + frontispiece and 34 plates (wanting 1 plate). First edition of this beautifully illustrated work, depicting the different instruments in baroque interiors and in pictorial landscapes, engraved by A. Schoonebeck. "The earliest account dealing exclusively with the subject, and especially valuable as the first work laying down rules for the graduation of the thermometer." (Sotheran No. 929, note). - "His detailed description of the principal meteorological instruments of the period is enriched with several new ideas, such as the calibration of the thermometric scale on the basis of two points of change of state: the point at which water freezes and - a much more contestable point - that at which butter melts." (DSB). Wellcome II: p. 28.

London, Macmillan & Co., 1932. 8vo. In the original green embossed cloth with gilt lettering to spine. Printed on thick paper. A few scratches to back board. Otherwise an very fine copy. XII, 141, (3) pp. First edition of Robbins's landmark publication, in which he sought to define more precisely economics as a science. With the present publication he became instrumental in shifting Anglo-Saxon economics from its Marshallian direction which eventually caused the breakthrough of neo-classical (Walrasian) definition of economics. The work is "one of the most cited, if not most read, books on the subject in the period 1932-60, and it influenced greatly economists' views about the nature of their discipline." (The New Palgrave). The definitions of economics presented here "were widely accepted by the world of academic economists and are still propagated" (The New Palgrave).Robbins put forth two central themes, both having a lasting and deep influence upon economics of the 20th century, the first being: "That economic science could be clearly demarcated from those discussions of economic issues that involved value judgments - by which latter term Robbins meant evaluation statements of the form 'better or worse' where inter-personal comparisons of utility were involved. He also argued that there was a clear demarcation between economic science and other branches of social enquiry such as social psychology, sociology, politics and so on."The second major theme was that the subject matter of economic science was not a particular activity (for example, Cannan's view that economics was the science of wealth), but rather an aspect of all human conduct. This aspect was the 'fact' of economic scarcity - a manifestation of unlimited ends on the part of individuals and society and means of satisfying those ends that were limited in supply. In word so often quoted in economics text Robbins defined economic science as 'that science that studies the relationship between ends and means that have alternative uses' - a definition that is more than reminiscent of Menger's exposition of the economizing process." (The New palgrave)Lionel Robbins (1898 - 1984) was a British (mainly theoretical) economist and head of the economics department at the London School of Economics. In macroeconomics Robbins's was a firm exponent of the Hayek's - and the Austrian school in general - teachings whom he brought to the London School of Economics in 1928. His liberal view was expressed when he famously, together with Joseph Schumpeter, advocated that nothing should be done about the 1929-depression and that it had to run its course since this alone would create a lasting development out of the depression.

Cologne, Boetium, 1695. Folio (370 x 230 mm). I contemporary full sprinkled calf with five raised bands to spine. Small paper-label pasted on to top of spines. Bindings with considerable wear, worm holes to boards, leather detached from edges of boards making the wooden boards visible. Spine-ends with loss of leather, end-bands showing. With occassional browning throughout. Some papers creased. (50 - including the frontispiece), 740 (8), 276, (200) pp. (With the following errors in pagination in vol. 2: 1-84, 95-98, 199, 100-101, 202, 103-174, 171-172, 177-236, 235, 238, 237-268.). With many emblems (included in the pagination) throughout. Fifth Latin edition, rarely found complete with both volumes as here, of Picinello’s magnificent and highly popular encyclopaedia of emblems - a cornerstone of emblematic literature and an essential guide for understanding the allegorical language of the Baroque era. “Picinelli’s intention was to compile a collection of brief interpretations which he wanted to have close to hand, especially on his travels as a preacher. From this collection of emblems, originally covering only four pages, the full reference work developed.The author wants the book to be understood not only figuratively as a book of the world: for him it really is the world, it contains the world in all its reality and, conversely, the whole world can be derived from it. In this he follows the interpretation of Romans 1,20 that, since the creation of the world, the invisible secrets of God can be perceived by the understanding mind through His works.” (Olms Online) Filippo Picinelli (1604 – 1679) was an Augustinian munk. Picinelli was born in Milan, Italy in 1604 and joined the Augustinian Order in 1614. He studied philosophy and theology at Cremona and Piacenza and lived in Milan. (Landwehr 480 - Not listing this edition, 1681, 1687, 1694 and 1715)

Amsterdam, Daniel von Dahlen, 1693. 4to. Contemp. full calf. Raised bands. Remains of rich gilding on spine. Titlelabel gone. Spineends reinforced. Corners restored. Front inner hinge reinforced. Stamp on title-page. Small woodengraved portrait on title-page. 40,144,270,(2),195,(3),308,(4) pp.. 1 engraved plate (Das Oldenburgische Horn). Light toning throughout, but clean and fine. First German edition (De Betoverde Weereld,1691) of Bekker's best known work in which he examined critically the phenomena generally ascribed to spiritual agency. He attacked the belief in sorcery and "possession" by the devil. Indeed, he questioned the devil's very existence. He applied the doctrine of accommodation to account for the biblical passages traditionally cited on the issue. The book had a sensational effect and was one of the key works of the Early Enlightenment in Europe. It was almost certainly the most controversial. Bekker became a heroic figure defying an army of obscurantists.

Paris, Henault, 1627. Folio. In contemporary full calf with six raised bands and gilt lettering and ornamentation to spine. Double gilt line to boarders of boards. Wear to extremities, corners bumped and boards with scratches. Missing small part of lather to capitals. Previous owner's name to title-page in contemporary hand (Ioachim Frederic Basse). Internally nice and clean. 824, (8) pp.; 28 pp. (portrait on p. 26). Later expanded edition of diplomat Arnaud d'Ossat’s letters to King Henri IV of France offering a fascinating glimpse into late 16th and early 17th century politics. Arnaud d'Ossat was a French diplomat and cardinal known for his diplomatic skills and served as the French ambassador to several European countries, including Spain and Rome. He played a significant role in negotiating diplomatic agreements and treaties during his career. D'Ossat was also appointed as a cardinal by Pope Paul V in 1604. His diplomatic efforts were instrumental in maintaining relations between France and other European powers during a tumultuous period in European history. Arnaud d'Ossat served as a trusted advisor and diplomat to King Henri IV of France. Henri IV, also known as Henri of Navarre, was the king of France from 1589 until his assassination in 1610. D'Ossat's diplomatic skills were highly valued by Henri IV, D'Ossat played a significant role in Henri IV's foreign policy, particularly in negotiating peace treaties and diplomatic agreements with other European powers. He was involved in delicate negotiations aimed at ending the conflicts and wars that plagued Europe during that time, including the French Wars of Religion and the broader struggle for power between Catholic and Protestant states. “Cardinal D’Ossat was Henri IV’s representative at Rome, and from a Roman Catholic point of view, a hero in the attempt to reunite Christendom and reconcile Henri with Spain and the Papacy. (…) the letters are gathered as a coherent historical narrative in a book ‘du tout utile & du tout public.’ a book which offers a course of instruction in civil prudence. They exemplify D’Ossat’s moral and political thought: ‘candeur &liberté’, ‘la parfaicte sagesse’, ‘la dexterité admirable qu’il avoit au maniment des affaires’. The reader will not find pages of ‘compliments’ and ‘flatteries’, but ‘un parfait modelle sur lequel tous les ministres des Princes de toute qualité se devront former, soit pour la facon de traitter les affaires de vive voix, ou de les faire entendre par escrit tels qu’ils sont’. They are also, then, literary or rhetorical models. Furthermore, the letters of men such as D’Ossat, men treating the affairs of great Princes, represent the most serious and noteworthy of their actions. These kinds of writing, in short, give ‘l’ame à l’histoire’.” (Jan Papy. "Self-presentation and Social Identification: The rhetoric and pragmatics of letter writing in early modern times").

(Cambridge, Cambridge University Press), 1937. Royal8vo. Original printed wrappers. Faint fading to extremities of wrappers, otherwise mint. 1 blank leaf, pp. (220)-235. First edition, offprint, of Jahn and Teller's important publication on the geometrical distortion of non-linear molecules - now known as the Jahn-Teller effect - which was to become a groundbreaking tool for research in crystals and molecular configurations in general."The Jahn-Teller effect is one of the most fascinating phenomena in modern physics and chemistry. It emerged in 1934 in a discussion between two famous physicists [...] and grew into a general tool for understanding and an approach to solving molecular and crystal problems, which is applicable to any polyatomic problem. The first formulation of the effect as instability of molecular configurations in electronically degenerate states proved to be the beginning of a whole trend which rationalizes the origin of all possible instabilities of high-symmetry configurations, and the peculiar nuclear dynamics resulting from these instabilities as well as the origins of all structural symmetry breakings in molecular systems and condensed matter. The next significant resurgence of interest in the Jahn-Teller effect is related to the late 1980s and is still continuing. It was triggered by one of the most important Nobel Prize discoveries in physics of our times inspired by the Jahn-Teller effect: the high-temperature superconductivity." (Bersuker, The Jahn-Teller Effect). "The Jahn-Teller effect continues to be a paradigm for structural instabilities and dynamical processes in molecules and in the condensed phase. While the basic theorem, first published in 1937, had to await experimental verification for 15 years, the intervening years have seen rapid development, initially in the theoretical arena, followed increasingly by experimental work on molecules and crystals. Among the many important developments in the field we mention cooperative phenomena in crystals, the general importance of pseudo-Jahn-Teller couplings for symmetry-lowering phenomena in molecular systems, nonadiabatic processes at conical intersections of potential energy surfaces and extensions of the basic theory in relation to the discovery of fullerenes and other icosahedral systems." (Köppel, The Jahn-Teller Effect: Fundamentals and Implications for Physics and Chemistry).Edward Teller's greatest long term contribution to science is his present discovery. He was, however, a highly controversial physicist in contemporary science: "Though an accomplished theoretical physicist, Teller is best known for his early contributions to the development of the hydrogen bomb and his unwavering defense of nuclear weapons. His support of weapons and opposition to test bans, along with his advocacy of projects such as the Strategic Defense Initiative, made him both one of the most controversial physicists of the twentieth century and one of the most politically influential.Dawn of the Atomic Age. Teller first began to consider the possibilities of a hydrogen weapon in late 1941 when, during a brief period at Columbia University, he met with Nobel laureate Enrico Fermi. Fermi had proposed that a fission explosion might create conditions close enough to what occurs within stars to induce the fusion of heavy hydrogen or deuterium nuclei, which, unlike standard hydrogen nuclei that contain only one proton, feature both a proton and a neutron. Though Teller was initially skeptical, he quickly established himself as the leading proponent of fusion weapons. During a 1942 meeting of top physicists at the University of California at Berkeley called by J. Robert Oppenheimer to discuss the potential development of fission weapons, Teller suggested that the prospect of building a hydrogen weapon, a "Super," be explored as well.Though Teller's advocacy of nuclear weapons put him at odds with many in the scientific community, it also provided him with powerful allies in the military and government who shared Teller's vision of sophisticated, often then-unrealized, technology playing a major role in defense. Whereas he never achieved the same high profile as Oppenheimer once had, Teller maintained an important voice on issues of science and defense in numerous administrations up to and including that of Ronald Reagan." (DSB).

London, Robert Baldwin, 1813 a. 1814. 8vo. 2 contemp. hcalf. Marbled boards. Spines lacks and boards detached. In: "Annals of Philosophy; or Magazine of Chemistry, Mineralogy, Mechanics... By Thomas Thomson". Vol. II and Vol. III. Entire volumes offered. Berzelius' papers: pp. 276-284, 357-368 (the first paper in vol. II), pp. 443-454 (vol. II) a. pp. 51-62, 93-106, 244-257 a. 353-364. (vol. III). Internally fine and clean. First printing of these milestone papers in the history of chemistry, where Berzelius introduced his famous chemical symbolism whereby an element is generally represented by the first letter of its Latin name, or, in the event of elements having the same first letter, by the first two letters. Even though his atomic symbols were introduced in 1813 (see the note on p. 359 in the first paper), it was quite a few years before Berzelius's symbols were adopted by the chemistry community. But once accepted, they became the new international language of chemistry.Berzelius "contributed more to the development of the atomic theory and to the setting up of accurate values of the atomic weights than did any other worker of the time. Of his contributions, moreover, to the development of the atomic theory and the advancement of chemical science, not the least valuable was the introduction of a chemical symbolism which, with slight modification, is in use at the present day. By giving his symbols a quantitative meaning - the symbol of an element representing one atomic proportion by weight - it was possible "to show briefly and clearly the number of elementary atoms in each compound and, after the determination of their relative weights, present the results of each analysis in a simple and easely retained manner". This symbolism was speedily adopted on the Continent but, in England, only after some considerable time."(Findlay "A Hundred Years of Chemistry", p. 14.).Parkinson "Breakthroughs", 1813 C. - Leicester & Klickstein "A Source Book in Chemistry", p. 258 ff. - Holmberg 1813:28 a. The volume contains other notable papers THOMAS THOMSON "On the Discovery of the Atomic Theory", pp. 329-338. and JOHN DALTON "Remarks on the Essay of Dr. Berzelius on the Cause of Chemical Proportions", pp. 174-180 (Vol. III).

Leipzig, Reisland, 1891. 8vo. Bound with the original front wrapper in a contemporaryhalf leather binding with gilding to spine. Spine with some wear and corners bumped. Internally fine. Bookplate to inside of front board. Inscription to front wrapper. XXIV, 133, (1) pp. Scarce first edition, presentation-copy, of one of Avenarius' main works, his foundational "The Human Concept of the World", which constitutes one of the greatest expositions of the radical positivist doctrine of "Empiriocriticism" (or "empirical criticism") and which introduced the theory of 'Introjection' (a certain theory of a fundamental difference between the 'inner' and 'outer' experiences, with different consequences. The term has later become fundamental in psychoanalysis). The work was extremely influential and is considered one of the main works of empiriocriticism, which after WWI evolved into logical positivism. The work directly influenced thinkers such as Ernst Mach and Ber Borochov and had an immense impact upon positivist thought, both philosophical and scientific. The book is inscribed to the famous Danish philosopher Harald Høffding: "Herr Professor H. Hoffding/ mit herzl. Gruss u. in dankbar Erinnerung/ an Skodsborg/ hochachtungsvoll/ d. Verf.", dated 1895. Harald Høffding (1843-1931) was one of the leading Danish philosophers of the turn of the century. His philosophy is greatly inspired by positivism, which around 1900, mainly due to Avenarius and Mach, came to be synonymous with empiriocriticism. Høffding had met Avenarius for the first time in Zürich and met him again in 1895 in Skodsborg (the time for which Avenarius thanks him in the presentation-inscription), a small city along the coast North of Copenhagen. Høffding describes this encounter in his "Contemporary Philosophers" from 1904. He describes how Avenarius sought ease in cities of water and writes how their meeting in Skodsborg constituted the first time that Avenarius made him acquainted with "pure experience", when walking around together in the garden of acclimatization. Avenarius died two years later. Høffding clearly admired the great thinker and describes Avenarius' character as "a rare energy of thought united with an artistic taste and an open and calm character". Avenarius' philosophy is further described by Høffding in his great work "The History of Newer Philosophy" (1894-95). The German philosopher Richard Avenarius (1843-1896), most famous for his formulation "empirical criticism", was not only read and studied in France and Germany, but also greatly influenced Russian philosophy; his "The Human Concept of the World" was severely criticized by Lenin in his extremely influential "Materialism and Empirio-criticism" (1909), which became an obligatory subject of study in all institutions of higher education in the Soviet Union, as a seminal work of dialectical materialism. In the text Lenin argued against Avenarius' concept of "Introjection" and stated that human perceptions correctly and accurately reflect the objective external world. Avenarius believed that scientific philosophy must be concerned with purely descriptive definitions of experience, which must be free of both metaphysics and materialism. In his "The Human Concept of the World", Avenarius formulates his first natural idea of the universe, which forms the basis of all of his thought."WHEN Richard Avenarius, Professor of Philosophy at the University, died at Zürich on 18th August, 1896, only a very small circle of philosophers and pupils knew what a powerful mind had been snatched from amongst them; for he was a man whose unique thought was unappreciated by his contemporaries solely because it was unique, and diverged too much from what was previously familiar." (Friedrich Carstanjen: Richard Avenarius and his General theory of Knowledge, Empiriocriticism. In: Mind, N.S., Vol. 6 (1897): pp. 449-475). "An especially new point in this paper is the theory of 'Introjection,' by which Avenarius explains the growth and formation of the theory that a fundamental difference exists between the 'inner' and 'outer' experiences. Avenarius does not find in these two kinds of experience any 'incomparability' or any 'fundamental dualism'. The idea of their essential difference has been derived, according to his opinion, from a kind of false materialism, which believed in the enclosure of the soul in the body or in a part of it, and, later, in the enclosure of the faculties of the soul in the soul's substance. From this belief sprang the notion that the soul was something enclosed from the 'outer world,' into which enclosure every impression from without could come only through a putting-in, or 'introjection'. The whole modern psychology, psycho-physics and most of philosophical theories contain such opinions, and therefore serve to strengthen the artificial wall between the inner and outer experiences which makes the sciences of the 'inner world' always more inaccessible to exact methods of investigation, and consequently more sterile." (D. Josepha Kodis, in the Psychological Review, vol. iii., 6, p. 609). "The Philosophy of Avenarius attracts more and more attention from thinkers who are striving for new views, and it gains ground steadily. England still holds aloof from it, and this is to some extent strange, since it is in England that we find the origin of the Association Psychology and of a Common-Sense Philosophy; it is true that taken as wholes neither of these has anything to do with Empiriocriticism, but in detail they would find many of their propositions in Empiriocriticism. It must not indeed be concealed that the difficulties of penetrating into Avenarius' works are very serious, chiefly because of the entirely new terminology introduced by him." (Friedrich Carstanjen: Richard Avenarius and his General theory of Knowledge, Empiriocriticism. In: Mind, N.S., Vol. 6 (1897): pp. 449-475).

[Regola de cingue:] Rome, Gio. Battista de Rossi (1617). [Alcune:] Rome, Francesco Villamena, 1617. Folio (420 x 280 mm). In contemporary limp vellum. Stamp to front and back free end-papers. Small worm tract affecting inner margin of first 11 ff. Extremities with some miscolouring and a few dots and marks. Internally fine and clean with plates in good clear impression. [Regola de cingue:] With engraved title-page with portrait of Vignola and dedicatory leaf followed 36 numbered plates (from I-XXXVI, number I and II engraved dedication plates). [Alcune:] With engraved title and 15 engraved plates. Lacking the two folding plates of the plan and section of the Palazzo Farnese at Caprarola. A fine copy of Vignola highly influential work which remained a standard textbook on architectural orders for no less than three centuries. “His 'Regola delli cinque ordini d'architettura', a concise illustrated tract on the five orders, enjoyed immense popular and academic success throughout Europe and was the most influential book on classical architecture until the advent of Modernism" (Turtle). Alongside Palladio and Serlio, Vignola was the third great architectural theorist of the renaissance. The work is more a collection of plates, depicting the five classical orders, than a readable book. The original copperplates of the present work were purchased around 1617 from Vaccario, the printer of the 1607-edition, by the Roman printer Francesco Villamena. The ‘Opere’ (withbound in the present copy) was meant to function as a companion to ‘Regola’ It featured facades, plans and portals of buildings by Vignola and a few attributed to Michelangelo. After Villamena’s death, these copperplates were bought by Giovanni Battista de Rossi, whose name appears in the title-page of this copy. “After studying in Bologna, Vignola went to Rome in the 1530s and made drawings of the antiquities for a projected edition of Vitruvius’ treatise on architecture. In 1541–43 he spent 18 months at the court of Francis I at Fontainebleau and in Paris, where he probably met his fellow Bolognese, the architect Sebastiano Serlio and the painter Primaticcio. On his return to Italy he built the Palazzo Bocchi at Bologna and then went to Rome (c. 1550), where he was appointed architect to Pope Julius III, for whom he built the Villa Giulia in collaboration with Giorgio Vasari and Bartolommeo Ammannati, in 1551–55. This was a summer villa, based on ancient villa types as described by Pliny the Younger, with a small house and an elaborate garden.” (Britannica).

Riga, 1794-98. Small 8vo. Bound uncut in five contemporary, uniform paper bindings with gilt title-labels to spines. Spines a bit darkened and with a bit of wear, especially to capitals. Some very light occasional brownspotting. Overall an exceptionally nice set, in original condition, and fully complete with all the general and specific title-pages. Old owner's name in neat, contemporary hand, dated "Uppsala 1798" to inside of front board of volume 1. (2), 184 + (2), 303 + (2), XIV, 416 + (2), XIV, 312 + (2), XIV, 320 pp. First edition of all volumes of Herder's seminal "Christliche Schriften", very rarely found together in a contemporary, uniform set as here.

Paris, Gandouin et Fournier, 1725. 8vo. Uniformly bound in four contemporary full calf bindings with five raised bands and richly gilt spines. Edges of boards gilt. Small paper-label pasted on to upper compartments on spines. All edges coloured in red. A few stains and scratches to boards and spine-ends with wear. With marginal annotation in contemporary hand throughout. (8), 523 pp. + 10 folded plates; (2), 545 pp. + 11 plates. (2), 442, (2) pp. + 9 plates; (2), 407, (5) pp. + 10 plates. Eighth revised edition of Brice’s travel guide to Paris. Uncountable travel guides to Paris were published in the period but the present work excelled in its beautiful plates and topographical accuracy. “Pour la première fois, un ouvrage se propose de décrire au voyageur étranger et à l'amateur la ville de Paris dans sa réalité topographique” ("For the first time, a work sets out to describe to the foreign traveler and the enthusiast the city of Paris in its topographical reality." (Jean-Pierre Babelon). Brice offered a modern and contemporary depiction of the city offering them the opportunity to discover the architectural and artistic riches of the capital. The work immediately became a succus and numerous editions, each updated with the most recent improvements, were published. The work remained one of the most successful travels guides to Paris in the 17th and 18th century.

Leipzig, Johann Ambrosius Barth, 1887. 8vo. Original half cloth with gilt lettering to spine. Library stamp to verso of title-page. In Annalen der Physik und Chemie, Neue Folge, Band XXXI. Pp. 421-448 + 1 plate; Pp. 543-544; Pp. 983-1000 + 1 plate. [Entire volume: VII, 1048 pp. + 7 plates]. Wear to capitals and two nicks (resulting in small holes and loss of paper) to back board. Internally nice and clean. First edition of Hertz's seminal paper on electromagnetic waves in which he empirically demonstrates Maxwell's equations. This discovery and its demonstration led directly to the invention radio of communication, television and Radar.Hertz demonstrates what Maxwell had predicted that electromagnetic waves radiated in space with the speed of light. Hertz determined these waves to be of greater length than light and that they could be reflected."Experimental proof by Hertz of the Faraday-Maxwell hypothesis that electrical waves can be projected through space was begun in 1887, eight years after Maxwell's death. The two main requirements were (a) a method of producing the waves, supposing that they existed, and (b) a method of detecting them once they were produced." (PMM, 377.). In the present paper Hertz "describes the apparatus that he had devised for the detection and measurement of electromagnetic waves, the key to his later success. To prove that electromagnetic waves can be projected through space it was necessary to devise a means of both producing the waves and, more difficult at the time, of detecting them once produced." (Norman Library, No. 1123)."Hertz's researches on electrical waves vindicated the Helmholtz ideal of the physicist as one whose competences embraced both experiment and mathematics. Hertz entered physics at the right time for one of his abilities to make a critical contribution; because the outstanding problem of physics was the disorderly condition of electrodynamics, what was needed was someone with the theoretical power to analyze the competing theories and with the experimental judgment to produce the evidence that would persuade the physical community that a decision between the theories had been reached." (DSB, VI, 348b.)In "Ueber einen Einfluss des ultravioletten Lichtes auf die electrische Entladung" Hertz describes for the first time in history the phenomenon that the sparking distances between two electrodes is increased when ultra-violet light falls on the negative conductor. "In the early 1890's the young inventor Guglielmo Marconi read of Hertz's electric wave experiments in an Italian electrical journal and began considering the Possibility of communication by wireless waves. Hertz's work initiated a technological development as momentous as it physical counterpart." (DSB, VI, 349a.).The present volume also contains the following articles of interest: Bunsen, R. "Ueber das Dampfcalorimeter", 1-14 p.Planck, M. "Ueber das Princip der Vermehrung der Entropie Zweite Abhandlund: Gesetze der Dissociation gasförmiger Verbindung", 189-203 p. Hertz, H. "Nachtrag zu der Abhandlung über sehr Schnelle electrische Schwingungen", 543-544 p. Hertz, H. "Ueber einen Einfluss des ultravioletten Lichtes auf die electrische Entladung", 983-1000 p.Röntgen, W. C. & J. Schneider. "Ueber die Compressibilität von verdünnten Salzlösungen und die des festen Chlornatriums", 1000-1005 p.See: The Barchas Collection No. 982; The Haskell F. Normann Library No. 1123; Dibner, Heralds of Science No. 71; The Richard Green Library 204 p; Printing and the Mind of Man p. 227 (PMM 370 being Hertz' 1892 book).

Cambridge, Mass., 1931-87. 17 orig. full cloth. 2 vols. with light wear to extremities. Complete set of this catalogue listing all the described birds of the world.

Wien, 1887. 8vo. The entire volume. Uncut and unopened in the orig. printed yellow wrappers, some soiling. Lacks upper part of spine, otherwise no tears, creases or lacks. Pp. 764-780 + one plate. [Entire volume: VIII, (2) pp., pp. 761-1120 + 3 plates, two of which are folded]. First edition of the seminal paper, in which Mach laid the basis for the principles of supersonics, determined the "sonic boom", demonstrated an object's speed relative to the speed of sound, now called the "Mach number" of an object, and presented the first photograph of a shock wave in front of an object moving at supersonic speed."Between 1873 and 1893 Mach and various collaborators, including his son Ludwig, devised and perfected optical and photographic techniques to study sound waves and the wave propulsion and gas dynamics of projectiles, meteorites, explosions, and gas jets. Stimulated by the remarks of the Belgian artillerist Henri Melsens, in 1881 Mach undertook to study the flight of projectiles by means of photographic techniques that he had already devised for other experiments in his Prague laboratory. His celebrated 1887 paper on supersonics was published jointly with P. Salcher of the Marine Academy of Fiume (now Rijeka, Yougoslavia) in the "Sitzungsberichte" of the Academy of Sciences of Vienna. The experiments described in this classic paper were carried out in Fiume with the support of the Austrian Royal Navy." (D.S.B., VIII: 597). In this highly influential paper, Mach demonstrates, with the aid of his photograph of a bullet in flight and the shock wave produced by the gas around the tip of it (the first such picture in history), that the angle which the shock wave makes with the direction of its motion is related to the speed of sound and to the speed of the projectile. This angle is called the Mach angle (coined by Ludwig Prandtl in 1907). This discovery turned out to be of ground-breaking character, and in 1929 J. Ackeret suggested to use the term "Mach number" for the value of the ratio of the speed of an object to the speed of sound, recognizing the profound effect that this discovery had on aerodynamics for high-speed projectile studies. "The Mach number was introduced into the literature in English by the late 1930's and since the end of World War II has taken on considerable importance in theoretical and fluid dynamics." (D.S.B., VIII: 597). Unlike most other units of measure, the number in this case comes after the name of the unit, making the second Mach number not "2 Mach", but "Mach 2". The "Mach 2" thus indicates a velocity of twice the speed of sound. Mach here also determines the effect of an object that travels past the speed of sound, namely the "sonic boom". "By 1885 Mach had worked out the details of supersonic motion, along the way developing high-speed photographic techniques. Most importantly for engineers, Mach Number is the ratio of the speed of sound in the given medium to the speed of the projectile; his work is essential to modern aerodynamics, and through it the word 'Mach' has bizarrely entered into popular culture as an icon for razors, sound systems, fighter pilots, and high speed fuels." (Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy).The Austrian physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach was highly influential among his contemporaries and is famous for the impact he had on the Vienna Circle. Though his main contribution to physics lies in his seminal description and photographs of the shock waves and his descriptions of how passing the speed of sound compressed air in front of projectiles, his more general contributions to philosophy and science were also immense. He was an early devotee of an extreme form of positivism, and his passionate ways of expounding his theories and his success as a polemicist and popularizer influenced an entire generation of scientists towards a profound skepticism that even extended into the use of abstract mathematics as an element of physical theories. He was highly critical of physical science and tried to free it from all elements that were not verifiable by sensory experience. "Ernst Mach (18 Februrary, 1838 - 19 February, 1916), made major contributions to, physics, philosophy, and physiological psychology. In physics, the speed of sound bears his name, as he was the first to systematically study super-sonic motion. He also made important contributions to understanding the Doppler effect. His critique of Newtonian ideas of absolute space and time were an inspiration to the young Einstein, who credited Mach as being the philosophical forerunner of relativity theory. His systematic skepticism of the old physics was similarly important to a generation of young German physicists." (Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy).

Leipzig, Engelmann, 1874. Lex 8vo. Presumably original half cloth with gilt title and lines to spine. Upper capital with a little bit of wear, but otherwise this fairly fragile binding is in surprisingly fine condition. First few leaves with a little bit of light brownspotting, otherwise fine. Stamp to title-page (Bibliothek des Kön. Real progymnasiums in Sonderburg) and a few old handwritten numbers to top of title-page. A few leaves with light pencil-underlinings. Repaired tear to first leaf of the Introduction, no loss. Illustrated throughout. XII, 870, (2, -errata) pp. The uncommon first edition of Wundt's seminal main work, which constitutes the most important work in the field of experimental psychology, of which Wundt was the founder. Wundt's "Physiological Psychology" constituted a new domain of science. Apart from being the first to create this new science and to lecture on it, he was also the first to publish a book on it, namely the "Grundzüge der physiologischen Psychologie", which remains the first and foremost classic within the field and is now regarded as the most important book in the history of psychology."Wundt made experimental investigations of normal individual reactions, reflex responses, and general behaviour, and interpreted them in terms of neural mechanisms. He is the founder of experimental psychology and his book remains the most important on the subject." (Garrison & Morton)."Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt (1832-1920) is known to posterity as the "father of experimental psychology" and the founder of the first psychology laboratory (Boring, 1950: 317, 322, 344-5). From there, Wundt exerted enormous influence on the development of psychology as a discipline, especially in the United States. Somewhat reserved and shy in public, Wundt aggressively dominated his chosen arenas, the lecture hall and the pages of books, with a witty and sardonic persona.His scope was vast, his output incredible. His writings, totaling an estimated 53,000 pages, include: articles on animal and human physiology, poisons, vision, spiritualism, hypnotism, history, and politics; text- and handbooks of "medical physics" and human physiology; encyclopedic tomes on linguistics, logic, ethics, religion, a "system of philosophy;" not to mention his magna opera, the "Grundzüge der physiologischen Psychologie" and the "Völkerpsychologie" (in ten volumes)." (SEP).Horblit: 100aG&M: 4976 (presumably erroneusly stating the printing-year as 1873-74; all other bibliographical information merely states 1874, as all other copies that we have been able to locate. The preface, which is clearly written for the first appearance of the book, is dated March 1874).

[London, Taylor and Francis, 1919] 8vo . In recent half cloth with cloth title-label with gilt lettering to front board. Extracted from "The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science" Sixth Series. A fine and clean copy. [Rutherford's paper:] pp. 537-587. [Withbound:] Pp. 537-616. First appearance of this seminal paper which contains Rutherford's discovery of artificial transmutation. He here discovered, that the atomic nucleus (discovered by him in 1911) itself had a structure, when, by bombarding nitrogen with alpha particles, he produced THE FIRST ARTIFICIAL TRANSFORMATION OF AN ELEMENT INTO ANOTHER, and what was left after the bombardment had to be those of oxygen atoms. - Thus thus began the age of nuclear physics."Rutherford was .. the first man ever to change one element into another as a result of the manipulations of his own hands. He had achieved the dream of the alchemists. He had also demonstrated the first man-made "nuclear reaction". By 1924 Rutherford had managed to knock protons out of the nuclei of most of the lighter elements." (Asimov)."A few years before, Marsden had noticed scintillations on a screen placed far beyond the range of alpha particles when these particles were allowed to bombard hydrogen. Rutherford repeated the experiment and showed that the scintillations were caused by hydrogen nuclei or protons. This was easily understood, but when he substituted nitrogen for the hydrogen, he saw the same proton flashes. The explanation he gave in 1919 stands beside the transformation theory of radioactivity and the nuclear atom as one of Rutherford’s most important discoveries. This, he said, was a case of artificial disintegration of an element. Unstable, or radioactive, atoms disintegrated spontaneously; but here a stable nucleus was disrupted by the alpha particle, and a proton was one of the pieces broken off." (DSB).PMM 411.

Hafniæ (København), uden angivelse af trykker, 1688. 4to. Nyere helpergamentsbd. i gl. stil, et af bindebåndene mangler. Kalligraferet rygtitel. (16),174,(24) pp. + Tilføjelses-og rettelsesbladet med stor træskåren slutvignet (2) pp. (Dette blad findes ikke i første del af oplaget iflg. Carl Christensen, ligesom den træskårne slutvignet mangler der). 4 blade løst indsat fra et andet eksemplar ( fol 5-8). 4 sidste blade med tab af øverste højre hjørner, repareret med teksttab. De 2 sidste har større tab af hjørnet, men er repareret. Første blade lidt tæt beskåret i højre margin. Ellers et ganske godt, rent eksemplar. Den yderst sjældne originaludgave. "Danske Lysthaver" (Viridarium) er det klassiske værk i dansk floristisk litteratur, den første danske flora, og i 100 år den eneste. Heri opregnes 1103 arter, ordnet efter de latinske navne og tilføjede danske og tyske navne, samt blomsternes lokalitet. Værket blev til efter Kyllings udnævnelse til kongelig botaniker med en årsløn på 300 Rdl og med den hensigt at skulle udfærdige et katalog over alle Danmarks og Norges planter, for siden at udarbejde en virkelig Flora Danica indeholdende alle planter, der voksede vildt i Kongens to riger. Projektet lykkedes ved egne rejser, men også med vægtige bidrag fra botanikere, læger, præster etc. boende rundt omkring i rigerne. - Bibl. Danica II:189. - Thesaurus II:527.

(Paris), Minuet, 1967. 8vo. Original wrappers. An excellent, very nice, clean, and fresh copy, just a tiny bit weak at the inner hinges. Old owner's name to front free end-paper (Carl Lemke 13.3.69). 445, (3) pp. First edition (20 Septembre, 1967, numéro 630) of Derrida's seminal main work, the foundational text for deconstructive criticism.1967 marks a turning point in the history of modern philosophy, constituting the birth of "Deconstruction". In this one year, Derrida publishes all of his three break-through books, "De la grammatologie", "L'écriture et la difference" and "La Voix et le phenomene", profoundly altering the course of modern thought. Although all three books are responsible for the introduction of Deconstruction, it is primarily "De la Grammatologie", Derrida's magnum opus, that has come to be associated with this groundbreaking concept."Jacques Derrida's revolutionary theories about deconstruction, phenomenology, psychoanalysis, and structuralism, first voiced in the 1960's, forever changed the face of European and American criticism. The ideas in "De la grammatologie" sparked lively debates in intellectual circles that included students of literature, philosophy, and the humanities, inspiring these students to ask questions of their disciplines that had previously been considered improper. Thirty years later, the immense influence of Derrida's work is still igniting controversy..." (Review, Spivak's translation of Derrida's "Of Grammatology", 1997).Derrida's concern is to bring to light the binary schema that is hidden in all kinds of texts and ideas of culture. In the present text Derrida brilliantly reveals some of the principles of deconstruction, not through theoretical explication, but, rather, by demonstration, showing that the arguments promulgated by their subject-matter exceed and contradict the oppositional parameters in which they are situated. Put into other words, deconstruction seeks to expose, and then to subvert, the various binary oppositions that undergird our dominant ways of thinking.The ideas that Derrida here present have had an enormous impact on a number of the human sciences, including psychology, literary theory, cultural studies, linguistics, feminism, sociology and anthropology. Due to this work, a whole new world of problematic suppression and marginalisation has become apparent, making "De la grammatologie" one of the most important philosophical works of the later part of the 20th century. "One of the major works in the development of contemporary criticism and philosophy". (J. Hillis Miller, Yale University).

K.,(1852-56). Tv-folio. Samtidig hldrbd.m.rygforgyldn. Forsatsen fornyet. Kromolitograf.titelblad samt 77 litograferede plancher (delvis i farvelitografi). Alle plancherne rene og i god stand, bortset fra 6, som har en svag skjold i indre margin. Komplet eksemplar af Bærentzen's billedbeskrivelse af Danmark, som omfatter Jylland-Sjælland-Øerne samt Slesvig (16 plancher)-Færøerne (1 pl.)-Island (5 pl.)- Grønland (3 pl.) og Vestindiske Øer (6 pl.).

(Paris, Imprimerie de Bachelier), 1843. 4to. Recent blue boards. 87, (1) pp. Clean and fine. In "Journal de Mathématiques pures et appliquées", tome VIII. Scarce first separate edition of Le Verrier's provisional theory on the motion of Mercury, his studies of which eventually did much to demonstrate the validity of Einstein's Theory of Relativity. The separate edition - as we have it here - is paginated 1-87, while the periodical version is paginated 273-359.The planetary orbits should agree with the predictions of the General Theory of relativity, but as Einstein pointed out in his "Erklärung der Perihelbewegung des Merkurs aus der allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie" from 1915, the divergences predicted were too small to be observed, except in the case of the nearest planet Mercury, where the perihelion advance, according to the formula, reaches the value of 43"" per 100 years, being in full agreement with the calculations of Le Verrier, who found this unexplained rest in the perihelion advance of Mercury per century, if the perturbations due to the other planets are deduced.- Einstein tells in a letter to a friend that for several days he was in a 'state of delirious joy' by this wonderful astronomical confirmation of his theory."Le Verrier first began to study Mercury on the suggestion of Arago in 1840. Astronomers realized that Mercury's perihelion (the point at which the orbit of a planet is closest to the sun) advanced along its orbit at a rate of 566 seconds per century. Le Verrier calculated that, even when taking into account the forces exerted by other planets in the solar system, there still existed a discrepancy between calculation and observation. Le verrier's accurate calculations showed that the planet's perihelion...did indeed advance forty seconds of an arc per century more than could be accounted for by Newton's theory of gravitation, even after the minor pertubing effects of the other planets had been allowed for." (Asimov). - Le verrier published these findings in the present work, carefully as to the mass of the planet, comparison with other orbits of planets and their perihelia. At the time, Le Verrier put down the discrepancy to mis-observation or mis-calculation.- Sparrow, Milestones of Science No. 133.

Cambridge, 1903. 8vo. Orig. brown full cloth with gilt lettering to spine. Gilt armorial centre-piece to front board (indicating that this was a prize from "Coll. di Joh. Bapt."). A bit of bumping to capitals and corners, otherwise fine. Inner hinges slightly weak and a few marginal pencil annotations. XXVII, (1), 232 pp. First edition of Moore's seminal magnum opus, his hugely influential "Principia Ethica", which helped found analytic philosophy and introduced and named the "naturalistic fallacy". "Moore's "Principia Ethica" (1903) is a landmark in the history of ethics. Its impact and influence on subsequent ethical theory, at least in Anglo-American philosophy, have been tremendous. Its specific doctrines of the indefinability of good and of the naturalistic fallacy, whether reinforced, amended, or even rejected, by later theorists, have served as the starting points of much of twentieth century philosophy." (Morris Weitz, 20th-Century Philosophy: The Analytic Tradition, (1966), p. 68).George Edward Moore (1873-1958) is one of the most influential twentieth century philosophers, and his contributions to analytic philosophy can be compared only to those of Russell, Wittgenstein, and Frege, with whom he founded this philosophical discipline. His impact on Anglo-American philosophy in the 20th century is unsurpassed. "Principia Ethica" is the most important of Moore's works. In this work, he makes use of analysis to establish the main doctrines of the book, and thereby lays one of the cornerstones of analytic philosophy. Moore here applies logic to ethics and shows us how this can provide a better foundation for ethics. Moore begins by showing that analysis will reveal to us that "good" is a simple, non-natural, and indefinable property, which cannot itself be defined and analyzed, because it is not a complex object that can be divided, but a simple object of thought and goes on to define ethics as an inquiry into what is good. He furthermore shows how sometimes false premises in the definition of good lead to false conclusions about ethical behavior and he introduces his seminal concept "naturalistic fallacy", which is defined as the error of assuming that "good" can be defined by naming various properties of things which we believe to be good. "Naturalism", according to Moore falsely assumes to have defined "good" and is therefore unable to provide any logical reason for any principle of ethics."It appears to me that in Ethics, as in all other philosophical studies, the difficulties and disagreements, of which history is full, are mainly due to a very simple cause: namely to the attempt to answer questions, without first discovering precisely WHAT question it is which you desire to answer. " (Moore, Preface, p. VIII). "The influence [of "Principia Ethics"] was not only overwhelming; it was exciting, exhilarating, the beginning of a renaissance, the opening of a new heaven on a new earth, we were the forerunners of a new dispensation, we were not afraid of anything." (Keynes).

London, William Askley, 1629. Folio (295 x 205 mm). In contemporary full calf with five raised bands. Wear to extremities, boards with scratches and large stain to back board. Small paper-label pasted on to top of spine. Dampstain to lower half of leaves throughout. (8), 988, (12) pp. "An exposition of the dominicall epistles and gospels vsed in our English liturgy throughout the whole year" and "An exposition of the proper psalmes vsed in our English liturgie." have separate title pages with the imprint: London Printed by George Miller for William Aspley at the signe of the Parot in Pauls Churchyard 1638 - both included in the pagination. Rare second folio-edition of Boys’s collected works first published in 1622 – allegedly being the earliest theological book to contain a section in Thanksgiving for the failure of the Gunpowder Plot" pp. 779-90 (Maggs, 1943). This present second edition was the basis for the 1854 photolithographed reprint. “Boys himself compiled a one-volume edition of his works in 1622, which included his systematic sermonic exposition of the church’s prescribed lectionary—a ten year project. It also included five miscellaneous sermons, and eleven books of postils first published between 1609-1617. The postils were so popular that they were reissued at least a dozen times in the first decade. The SDG reprint is photolithographed from an 1854 edition published in New York by Stanford and Swords, which is based on a 1629 London edition. It contains Boys’s exposition of Scripture passages used in the services of Morning and Evening Prayer and Holy Communion in The Book of Common Prayer, as well as his writings on the Psalms, expositions on the epistles and gospels, and comments on the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments. Spurgeon said Boys was “one of the richest of writers,” being “all essence.” Indeed, Boys’s writing is lively, witty, clear, and profound. He made complex doctrine plain and practical.” (Beeke & Pedersen, Meet the Puritans) John Boys (1571–1625) was an English churchman and theologian who served as the Dean of Canterbury Cathedral. He was a prominent figure in the Church of England during the early 17th century. Boys is best known for his extensive writings on theology and biblical commentary, particularly his work "An Exposition of the Dominical Epistles and Gospels Used in Our English Liturgie" (1622). This work provided detailed explanations and interpretations of the biblical passages used in the Anglican liturgy, aimed at assisting clergy and laypeople in understanding and applying these texts to their lives. Boys was highly regarded for his scholarship and theological insights, and his works were widely read and influential within the Church of England during his lifetime and beyond. His works were translated into German in 1683, and again in two volumes in 1685. It was reprinted in English in 1997 taken from 1854-edition published by Stanford and Swords, New York.

Chicago, Illinois: Institute for Nuclear Studies, University of Chicago, 1951. 1951, 1952, 1954. 4to. All 4 with orig. printed wrappers, being offprints from "Science" (Vol. 113, 114,116 a. 119). - 10 pp., 6 pp., 9,(1) pp., 6 pp. Light marginal stain to the first work. First editions, off-prints, of all four papers, which together constitute the first printed results of radiocarbon dating, based on samples gathered by Libby and his co-workers. It was due to this discovery, which revolutionized the practice of archaeology and other branches of science (e.g. geology, geophysics, etc.), that Libby received the Nobel Prize in 1960. Willard F. Libby (1908-80) was a skilled chemist who is remembered today for having developed the process of carbon-14 dating, which is now of the utmost importance to several branches of science. Libby studied chemistry at Berkeley, California, from where he obtained his doctorate in 1933; here he stayed on as, first instructor and then, associate professor. In 1941 he was recruited into the Manhattan Project. After the war he became professor at the University of Chicago, at the Institute for Nuclear Studies. It was here that he made his seminal discovery, namely that a hitherto rarely noticed isotope of carbon, that called carbon-14, was absorbed by plants through photosynthesis and that after a plant died, it would no longer absorb the carbon-14, causing its remains to gradually lose the carbon-14 that it had accumulated through radioactive decay. Thus, by measuring how much carbon-14 was left in the dead plant material, it would be possible to determine when it died. Libby now developed a method for measuring the carbon-14 content, and he began testing his technique (also on things, the dates of which were already known) and found that it applied to all locations everywhere.The isotope carbon-14 had first been isolated in 1940 by two of Libby's students while working on the atomic bomb project. It had been shown that carbon 14 was continually being formed by cosmic rays colliding with atmospheric nitrogen. Libby surmised that traces should always be found in air's carbon dioxide, and that carbon 14 could be detected by modern devices in all products of life such as archaeology, geology, geophysics, and other branches of science. It was in 1950 that he reduced the small amount of ancient wood to pure carbon, and in measuring its radioactivity, he deduced its age. After the announcement of this result, scientists from around the worlds presented him with samples of items to date. Naturally, Libby's discovery caused general excitement within scientific circles; archaeologists, geologists etc. now only needed something organic (e.g. wood, plant remains, charcoal etc.) to possibly date a find. The method is surprisingly accurate and only when dating things more than 10.000 years old, does it become less accurate. Libby received the Nobel Prize in 1960 for his discovery of methods to use carbon 14.