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Berlin, J. Springer, 1932-33. 8vo. Bound together in recent attractive marbled boards. Leather title-label with gilt lettering on front board. Title-pages from the three volumes withbound (small rubberstamp). (11),(9),(12) pp. First edition of Heisenberg's neutron-proton model. Shortly after Chadwick discoverd the neutron in 1932, Heisenberg developed a theory suggesting that atomic nuclei are composed of protons and neutrons, -this introduced the concept of the nuclear exchange force and isotopic spin. (DSB 17: p.398).

A Paris, (1812). Folio. Fine Later hcalf in old style with raised bands. - Consisting of 42 engr.plates, of which 30 are in fine handcolouring (Numb. 1-42). Some plates dampstained in upper part, mostly effecting upper margins.

Leipzig, Grosse & Gleditsch, 1696. 4to. Entire volume present. Nice contemporary full vellum. Small yellow paper label pasted to top of spine and library-label to front free end-papers. Internally some browning and brownspotting. Overall a nice and tight copy. [Bernoulli paper:] pp. 264-69. [Leibniz-paper:] pp. 45-47. [Entire volume: (2), 603, (1) pp. + plates]. First printing of the famous 1696-edition of Acta Eruditorum in which Johann Bernoulli published a challenge to the best mathematicians:"Let two points A and B be given in a vertical plane. To find the curve that a point M, moving on a path AMB , must follow such that, starting from A, it reaches B in the shortest time under its own gravity."Johann adds that this curve is not a straight line, but a curve well known to geometers, and that he will indicate that curve, if nobody would do so that year. Later that year Johann corresponded directly with Leibniz regarding his challenge. Leibniz solved the problem the same day he received notice of it, and almost correctly predicted a total of only five solutions: from the two Bernoullis, himself, L'Hospital, and Newton. Leibniz was convinced that the problem could only be solved by a mathematician who mastered the new field of calculus. (Galileo had formulated and given an incorrect solution to the problem in his Dialogo). But by the end of the year Johann had still not received any other solutions. However, Leibniz convinced Johann that he should extend the deadline to Easter and that he should republish the problem. Johann now had copies of the problem sent to Journal des sçavans, the Philosophical Transactions, and directly to Newton. Earlier that year Johann had accused Newton for having filched from Leibniz' papers. Manifestly, both Johann and Leibniz interpreted the silence from June to December as a demonstration that the problem had baffled Newton. They intended now to demonstrate their superiority publicly. But Newton sent a letter dated Jan. 30 1697 to Charles Montague, then president of the Royal Society, in which he gave his solution and mentioned that he had solved it the same day that he received it. Montague had Newton's solution published anonymously in the Philosophical Transactions. However, when Bernoulli saw this solution he realized from the authority which it displayed that it could only have come from Newton (Bernoulli later remarked that he 'recognized the lion by its claw'). The present volume contains the following articles of interest:Jakob Bernoulli: 1, Observatiuncula ad ea quaenupero mense novembri de Dimensionibus Curvarum leguntur.2, Constructio Generalis omnium Curvarum transcendentium ope simplicioris Tractoriae et Logarithmicae.3, Problema Beaunianum universalius conceptum.4, Complanatio Superficierum Conoidicarum et Sphaeroidicarum.Johann Bernoulli5, Demonstratio Analyticea et Syntetica fuae Constructionis Curvae Beaunianae.6, Tetragonismus universalis Figurarum Curvilinearum per Construitionem Geometricam continuo appropinquantem.Tschirnhaus7, Intimatio singularis novaeque emendationis Artis Vitriariae.8, Responsio ad Observationes Dnn. Bernoulliorum, quae in Act. Erud. Mense Junio continentur.9, Additio ad Intimationem de emendatione artis vitriariae.

Kiöbenh(avn), Uden trykker, 1663. Lille 8vo. Samtidigt hellæderbind. Rig rygforgyldning. Forgyldt titelfelt. Skindet krakeleret ved forreste fals således, at bogen er lidt løs, men forpermen sidder stadig fast. Kobberstukket titelblad, der foruden titlen har 11 felter med forskellige fyndord. (10), 200 pp. Titelkobberet med et hul i titellfeltet med tab af nogle bogstaver. Lille hul i de første 2 blade med tab af få bogstaver. De 4 sidste blade med reparation af øverste højre hjørner. De 2 sidste blade med større brunplet. Nogle få spredte brunpletter. Originaludgaven af det første danske forsøg på en sammmenlignende sprogvidenskab.The very rare first edition of the first Danish work of comparative linguistics and the first Danish work on comparative history of literature. The work is of seminal importance to the development of the Danish language as the accepted official and written language of Denmark.Bibl. Danica IV,60. - Thesaurus II,677.

Berlin, G. Reimer, 1847. Contemp. hcalf, profusely gilt spine. Light wear along edges. XXXII,622 pp. In: "Fortschritte der Physik im Jahre 1845. Dargestellt von der physikalischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin". I. Jahrgang. Redigirt von G. Karsten. XXXII,622 pp. A stamp on titlepage. Helmholtz's paper: pp. 346-355. Clean and fine. First appearance of this milestone paper which represents the first, and most importent, step towards his great work laid down in "Über die Erhaltung der Kraft", 1847. This is Helmholtz' FIRST PAPER ON THE CONSERVATION OF FORCE"At the beginning of October, 1846, Helnmholtz sent a 'Report on Work done on the Theory of Animal Heat for 1845', at du Bois' request, to the "Fortschritte der Physik", issued by the Physical Society. (the paper offered). This was merely an abstract from the article in the Encyclopaedic Dictionary.....BUT IT ANTICIPATES MORE DEFINITELY THE CONDCLUSIONS OF HIS GREAT WORK. He states without hesitation that the material theory of heat is no longer tenable, and that a kinetic theory must be substituted for it, since heat originates in mechanical forces, either directly by friction, or indirectly from an electrical current produced by themotion of magnets. This conception of heat as a motion involves the conclusion that mechanical, electrical and chemical forces must always be the definite equivalent of one and the same energy, whatever the mode by which one force is transformed into another. The empirical confirmation of this law must be the imperative duty of physicists and physiologists."(Leo Koenigsberger in "Hermann von Helmholtz", pp. 34-35)."In the "Fortschritte der Physik" for 1845, which appeared in 1847, Helmholtz published a report on theories of physiological heat which he later acknowledged as belonging to his work on the conversation of force."(Jungnickel & McCormach "Intellectual Masteryof Nature, Vol. 1, p. 157).

Amsterdam, Aux Depens de la Compagnie, 1729-30. + Supplement: Amsterdam, Chatelain et Fils, 1753. 4to. Bound in 4 uniform contemp. full calf. Raised bands. Blindtooling to compartments. Titlelabels with lettering. Broad gilt border on covers. With the monogram of King Frederik V in gold on red background on all covers. Light wear to spine-ends on the first volume. Spines slightly rubbed. Stamp on title-pages. Engraved frontispiece to Suppl.vol., 131 engraved plates, mostly folding (of which 2 are supplied in Zerox-copy), 3 folded engraved maps, many large engraved vignettes. Internally clean and fine. This second French edition is here supplied with a 7th volume, first published to the edition of 1753. - Brunet IV, 791 - Graesse V,396-97.

Paris, Chez Benoit Dandré, 1796. 4to. Bound in two nice uniform contemporary full calf bindings with black tome and title-labels to spines. Spine with gilt ornamentation. Gilt borders to boards and gilt lines to edges of boards. Light overall wear to extremities, especially to capitals. Top of front hindge on vol. 1 cracked. Very light occassional brownspotting throughout. An overall very nice set. (6), (I)-XLII, (1), 501, (2) pp. + 6 plates (including frontiespiece); (6), (I)-VIII, (1)-544 pp. + 23 plates. A fine copy of the first quarto edition in the French Language of Thunberg's important 'Resa' (1788-93). The work contains material of great ethnographic interest and Thunberg is often referred to as the "the Japanese Linnaeus". Thunberg left Holland in 1771 and returned in 1778, spending three years at the Cape and five in Japan he became the first Western Scientist to investigate Japan's botany:"After his stay in Paris Thunberg returned to Amsterdam and was offered the opportunity to go to Japan in the service of Dutch merchants (Poll, Deutz and Hoven), to collect plants for the Amsterdam botanical garden and for their own collections. In order to be admitted in Japan, Thunberg had to pass as a Dutchman; he therefore spent 3 years in the Dutch colony at the Cape of Good Hope, becoming acquainted with the Dutch language and collecting plant material. After that he spent half a year on Java, and in August 1775 he arrived in Japan (Nagasaki). After his return from Japan, in November 1776, he spent another half year on Java...." (Stafleu, Linnaeus and the Linnaeans, p. 154).Cordier 447 Gay 3151 Nipponalia 1972 Brunet 5:850

Kiøbenhaffn, Laurentz Benedicht, 1597. Lille 8vo. Velbevaret 1700-tals helbind i kalveskind med spejl. Smal guldbort i yderste permfelt. Rig rygforgyldning. Forgyldt titel på ryg. 420 blade, hvoraf de 3 er i gammel facsimile (blad 1-2 og sidste blad). Ganske velbevaret, nøstsidste blad med en reparation i nederste indre margindel med tab af liniedele. Af største sjældenhed idet Lauritz Nielsen kun anfører 8 bevarede eksemplarer i offentlige biblioteker. Det er sandsynligt, at der kun eksisterer 2 eksemplarer i privateje, begge, som foreliggende, med nogle mangler. Medelby var slotspræst i København, senere biskop på Gotland.Lauritz Nielsen, 1152. - Thesaurus I, 139. - Paulli, lorentz benedicht, nr. 218.

Kiøbenhafn, Peder Hake - Jørgen Holst, 1656. 4to. Samtidigt helldrbd. med ægte bind på ryggen. Lidt tab af skind i nederste rygfelt udbedret. nederste hjørne på forpermen stødt. Rygtitlen i gl. håndskrift. Kobberstukket titelblad og bogtrykt titelblad. (20),359,652 pp. samt upaginerede registre (48 pp.) incl. de 4 titelblade (ialt 1116 pp.). Side 323/24 i stort format og foldet (oversigt over Norges inddeling, med en revne, uden tab). Det kobberstukne titelblad lidt tæt beskåret forneden og med et par smårifter i ydre margin. Det bogtrykte titelblad med et indhak i nederste højre hjørne, uden teksttab. Trykt med varierende papirkvalitet, nogle læg lidt brunede og med brunpletter, dog mest marginalt. Originaludgaven. Værket udkom med trykkeårene 1650, 1651 og 1652 og med fællestitelbladet dateret 1656. Titelkobberet af Simon de Pas med forskellige landskaber og fæstningen Varberg samt forfatterens portræt og våben. Værket er et vægtigt kildeskrift idet forfatteren selv berejste store dele af Danmark og Norge.Bibl. Danica I:9. - Birkelund nr. 41 - Thesaurus II: 376.

Carlsruhe, Chr. Gottlieb Schmieder, 1784-1804. (I-II: 1794, III-IV: 1784, V-VI: 1798, VII: 1804). 8vo. Bound in five beautiful, uniform cont. hcalfs w. 5 raised bands, single gilt line-ornamentations and gilt leather title-labels to spines. Some traces of wear, and som minor bumping to corners. Internally occational minor brownspotting. Ab. 7 leaves of first vol. w. marginal fire-damage, not affecting text. Vol 3 (Theil IV w. 6 leaves of contents written in cont. hand. A beautiful set housed in a custom-made marbled paper slipcase. Title-vignettes to all five title-pages, engr. frontispiece, 14 full-page engr. or woodcut plates (13 engraved by Chodowiecki and Schellenberg, one woodcut), 3 engr. and 8 woodcot illistr. in the text, 2 pp. of music. Signatures on plates in Theil 3 erased (from plates). Matthias Claudius (1740-1815) was a German poet, who is now mostly known for his "Wandsbecker Bothe", the famous newspaper that between 1771 and 1775 appeared as the first popular periodical to also contain stories and articles presented for a wider audience belonging to different educational levels.Claudius had studied theology and political science and later became the private secretary of Count Ulrich Adolph. The Count sent him to Copenhagen, where he stayed for a number of years and made the acquaintance of Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, who stimulated his literary longings. From 1768 he worked as an editor for Klopstock's brother in Hamburg, where he met Herder and Lessing, two of the most influential thinkers of the time. In 1771 he went on to Wandsbek, where he came to edit the newspaper of commerce, "Der Wandsbecker Bothe", which had been initiated by Schimmelman. It is under the editorship of Claudius that the paper becomes famous all over Germany, and it is he, who turns it into the first popular newspaper of the country. The paper only ran from 1771 till 1775, and after that Claudius published his own writings under the name of "Der Wandsbecker Bote" and the pseudonym "Asmus".This is a beautifully printed and illustrated work that contains many famous pieces.

København, (1888-1889). 4to (bd. 1-2) + 8vo (bd. 3). Indbundet i tre samtidige, ensartede, nydelige grønne halvlæderbind med rygforgyldning. Slitage ved kapitæler og ved false. Hjørner stødt. Indvendig pæn og ren. I 2det Bind af dette tidsskrift findes originaltrykket af den først publicerede del af en af den moderne litteraturs hovedværker, Hamsuns "Sult". Heri trykkes for første gang de berømte linier "Det var i den Tid, da jeg gik omkring og sultede i København", indledningen til den roman, der gjorde Hamsun berømt og til det værk, der indvarslede en ny litterær epoke i Europa. "Sult" kom først i bogform to år senere, i 1890, og det er med publikationen af denne del, at Hamsuns ry som en forfatter i verdensklasse bliver slået fast."Knut Hamsuns debutroman fra 1890 er en af de bøger, der har sat skel. Den har virket med til at forme et nyt menneskesyn og en ny skrivemåde. Hamsun hentede stoffet fra sine egne trængselsår, da han uden slægt og venner gik arbejdsløs i Kristiania og kæmpede mod skuffelser, nederlag og sult." (Johannes V. Jensen).Som 27-årig i 1886 blev Hamsun for anden gang reddet fra en sultende tilværelse og sendt til Amerika, denne gang til Chicago, hvor han bl.a. arbejdede som sporvognskonduktør. Da han blev fyret fra dette job og vennerne havde skilliget sammen til en billet hjem, tog Hamsun i forsommeren 1888 tilbage mod Norden, -men han stod ikke af i Kristiania, han tog skibet videre til København. Da han stod og så skibet sejle fra Kristiania, tænkte han på sine nederlag i denne by, og en af den nyere litteraturs vigtigste sætninger indfandt sig i hans hoved: "Det var i den tid, da jeg gik rundt og sultede i Kristiania", -kimen til et af det 20. århundredes litterære hovedværker var lagt, og Hamsun satte sig med det samme på den nærmeste skibskiste og begyndte at skrive. Påvirket af Nietzsche og Dostojevski sad Hamsun i sit loftsværelse på Nørrebro og arbejdede døgnet rundt på sit første mesterværk. Efteråret 1888 stod den første del af monumentalromanen "Sult" færdig, men da Hamsun ikke turde risikere en afvisning fra Danmarks førende kulturperson, Georg Brandes, opsøgte han dennes bror, Edvard, som var chefredaktør på "Politiken". Edvard Brandes fik således æren af at være den første, der anerkendte Hamsuns talent. Til den stærkt forhutlede forfatter sagde han som den første: "Der venter Dem en meget stor Fremtid!" og om det manuskript, han præsenterede ham for: "det var ikke bare talentfuldt som så meget andet, det var mere, noget, der rystede mig." Edvard Brandes var ikke i tvivl om, at dette manuskript skulle trykkes, og da det var for langt til at stå i "Politiken", blev det trykt i tidsskriftet "Ny Jord", og med ét kunne alle, der tidligere havde afvist Hamsun og hans tidlige litterære forsøg, se, hvor stor en forfatter, de havde at gøre med. De tre bind af "Ny Jord" giver et fantastisk indblik i den Nordiske tidsånd i slutningen af det 19. århundrede. Vi finder hér, ud over både førstetrykket af "Sult" og Hamsuns "Kristoffer Janson" ligeledes den første del af den første danske oversættelse af Nietzsches "Saaledes talte Zarathustra", diskussioner og oversættelser af Darwin, bidrag af Strindberg , Høffdings "Om vor Tid og dens Ungdom" etc, etc.

(Kbhvn., G.L. Lahde, 1805). Tv-folio. Smukt senere hldrbd. (Anker Kyster) med rig rygforgyldning og rhombeformet forgyldt skindtitel på forperm. Beskrivende tekst på dansk og tysk. Med 24 kobberstukne prospekter af danske Slotte fra Bruun's ikke fuldendte værk "Novus Atlas Danicus", som af Lahde i 1805 blev genoptrykt med de originale plader og for slottenes vedkommende samlet under denne titel. De sidste 4 med lidt brunpletter.

Amsterdam, L. & D. Elzevirios, 1661. 4to. Contemp. full vellum, ms-title on spine. Title in red/black. Engraved portrai of Regius on verso of f 4 (H. Bloemaert pinxit, T. Matha, sculpsit). (44),523,(1- Errata) pp. 2 folded engraved plates (Globus Coelestis a. Orbis Terrarum Typus). Numerous woodcut illustrations in the text, astronomical, mechanical, physical, physiological, anatomical, theory of light, theory of vision etc. etc. Printed on good paper, clean and fine. Third edition (appeared 1651 a. 1654). This is edition having the 2 plates which appears here for the first time and not in the earlier editions.Henricus Regius (in Dutch: Hendrik de Roy) may be recognised today primarily as one of Descartes' correspondents. However, he was also the author of a textbook of natural philosophy, Fundamenta physices (1646), which offered an alternative to Cartesian epistemology and metaphysics. His correspondence with Descartes, and his simultaneous controversy with G. Voetius during the 1640s, reflected Regius' efforts to establish his intellectual independence from scholastic philosophy and Cartesian metaphysics.(Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).Willems, 1274. - Poggendorff II, 587 b.

Portland, Jenks & Shirley, 1804. 8vo. In contemporary full calf with gilt lettering to spine. Extremities with wear and hindges a bit weak. Previous owners names to front free end-paper. Title-page missing missing lower outer corner, not affecting text. Internally with light occassional brownspotting. (2 blank leaves), 148, (2), (3 blank leaves) pp. Rare first edition of Turner's work on double-entry bookkeeping constituting one of the earliest work on bookkeeping printed in America (The earliest being from 1789)"It is singular that this little work should have been suffered to sink into oblivion. It contains much new and useful information; it is written with clearness and precision, and better adapted to the purposs of instruction than any similar work which have appeared in the United States since 1800. The modern practice of double entry is clearly exemplified by Turner, and a very trifling revision would render [the present work] one of best elementary treatises on merchants accounts extant" (Foster, The Origin and Progress of Book-keeping).

København, 1748. Stor 4to. Senere helpergament. På skrivepapir. Kobberst. frontisp. samt 109 kobberst. plancher. Rent ekspl. Tekst på dansk, fransk og tysk. Thurahs monumentale Københavns-beskrivelse i originaltrykket.

Christiania, (Tönsberg), 1848. Tvær-folio. Senere hpluviusinbd. med rygforgyldning. Litograferet titelblad. 196 pp. + rettelsesblad samt 82 tonede litograferede plancher (de fleste litograferede af Bærentzen, efter forskellige malere og tegnere). tekstsiderne her og der med varierende bruning, afhængig af den anvendte papirkvalitet. 1 planche med en rift, udbedret uden tab. Plancherne gennemgående rene, få brunpletter. Originaludgaven af dette topografiske storværk, komplet med alle plancher.

(Paris, ca. 1784-87). 4to. Series of 6 engraved plates in original handcolouring. 21x14,5 cm. (With broad margins: 25,5x19 cm.). The fine series of these early depictions Hawaiians comprises: 1. Femme des Isles Sandwich . 2. Guerrier de Sandwich - 3. Danseur des Isles Sandwich - 4. Pretre des Isles de Sandwich - 5. Roi des Isles de Sandwich - 6. Insulaire des Isles Sandwich. J. Grasset... direc. - J. Laroque Sculp).Colas 1287 ff. - Sabin: 28334 ?

Kiøbenhaffn, Henrich Waldkirch (og andre ?), 1613-33. 4to. Velbevaret samtidigt dansk hellæderbind over træ i renæssancestil og med 2 originale spænder i bronce. Ophøjede bind på ryg. Permer med blindtrykte rammer i streger og ruller samt i midterfelterne pladetrykte portrætter (Justitia ?). Lidt slid ved øverste kapitæl.(52);(20);(38) pp. samt 115 forordninger. Ialt ca. 600 pp. Bagerst i bindet 26 sider med samtidige tilføjelser, notater m.v. Yderst velbevaret. Alle i originaltrykkene - de 3 første med angivelse af trykker: Henrich Waldkirch, Forordningerne uden angivelse af trykker. - Forordningerne vedrører alle sider af samfundslivet, handel, næring, sundhedsvæsenet, myntvæsenet, vejvæsenet, retsvæsenet, skolevæsenet etc. etc. for Danmark-Norge. - Bibl. Danica I: 635 ff.

Kbhvn., Jul. Hoffenbergs Tryk og Forlag, (1858). Lille folio. Senere marmoreret papbd. med stor skindtitel med guldtryk på forperm. Uden titel og de 6 tekstblade, men med samtlige 26 plancher, hvor de 20 viser uniformerne og de 6 tillgsplancher viser detaljerne i uniformernes udstyr. Uniformsplancherne opsat på karton, som altid. Plancherne er farvelitograferede og håndkolorerede. Colas No 1509. Lipperheide No 2279.

Madrid, Imprenta real.Iuan Garcia Infancon, 1677. Small folio. Later hcalf. Spine gilt, titlelabel with giltlettering. Corners bumped. Some wear to edges. Spine a bit rubbed. Bits of marbled coverpapers gone at edges. Engraved frontispiece, title-page in red/black. (22),817,(15) pp. Some engravings in the text. Small nicks to margins of frontispiece, no loss of image. A faint dampstain to upper right corners on the first ab. 50 leaves and on a few leaves at end. Otherwise clean. Printed in double columns. In Spanish. A small stamp on foot of title-page, frontispiece and front free-endpaper. Scarce first edition of this important chronicle of the events which took place in Seville from 1246 to 1671.Brunet IV, 244.

Bln., Voss, 1767. Two nice, cont., uniform full calf w. five raised bands on backs, coloured title- and tome-labels and richly gilt backs. Traces of use, especially to the bands. Some gilding and part of title-label on vol. one worn off. Internally a bit of soiling, but a good copy on good paper. Old owner's name on t-p. (M. Harboe). Woodcut title-pages and vignettes. First edition of Lessing's first collection of "Lustspiele", containing the first printing of "Minna von Barnhelm".Lessing (1729-1781) is the most important literary writer of the Age of German Enlightenment; with him this period is fulfilled as well as overcome."Minna von Barnhelm" is one of Lessing's most important and successfull works and is considered one of the absolute best of his plays. "Es war die erste deutsche Dramatische Dichtung, welche nicht gemacht, sondern erlebt war." (Hettner, Geschichte der deutschen Literatur im 18. Jahrh., II: 310). Lessing himself wrote in a letter that should "Minna of Barnhelm" not turn out to be the very best of his plays, he would be very disappointed, and never have anything to do with the theatre again. " "Minna von Barnhelm" ist unbedingt die vollendeste dichterische Leistung Lessings." (Hettner, II: 310). Goethe also considered this work a masterpiece; he found it the most sincere thing to have come out of the Seven Years War and a work of immense importance and impact. With this work we find the genres of drama and comedy fulfilled."Nach ein paar Wanderjahren kehrte er nach Berlin zurück, wo 1766 un 1767 zwei seiner Meisterwerke erschienen: der "Laokoon" und das Lustspiel "Minna von Barnhelm". (Bücher die die Welt verändern, # 213). See PMM 213.Has belonged to Th.E. Petersen and M. Harboe.

London, Richard Taylor, 1834-35. 4to. No wrappers as extracted from "Philosophical Transactions" 1834 - Part II. and 1835 - Part I. Both titlepages to the volumes present.Pp. (2),247-308 a. (2),95-144. Both papers clean and fine. First appearance of these two groundbreaking papers in which Hamilton carries further the dynamics of Lagrange by expressing the kinetic energy in terms of the momenta and the co-ordinates of a system, and discovers how to transform the Lagrangian equations into a set of differential equations of the first order for the determination of of the motion. The Hamilton principle is also called The Principle of "Least Action". The Hamilton Principle as stated in the papers offered here "was the first of his two great "discoveries". he second was the quaternions, which he discovered...1843 nd towhich he devoted most of his efforts during the remaining 22 years of his life."(DSB).Maupertouis, Euler, and Lagrange introduced the principle of "Least Action" covering the science of dynamics, and now Hamilton brought the principle into a form which was capable of expressing all the laws of Newtonian science in a representation as minimum-problems, that is, all gravitational, dynamical and electrical laws could be represented as minimum problems. In 1925 Heisenberg, Born and Jordan showed, that the Hamilton equations are still valid in quantum theoryAlthough formulated originally for classical mechanics, Hamilton's principle also applies to classical fields such as the electromagnetic and gravitational fields, and has even been extended to quantum mechanics, quantum field theory, relativity and criticality theories. Its influence is so profound and far reaching that many scientists regard it as the most powerful single principle in mathematocal physics and place it at the pinnacle of physical science.

Paris, Estienne Michallet, 1688. Cont. full calf. 5 raised bands on back, back richly gilt, all edges of boards gilt. Lacking leather at capitals, front-hinge cracked, so cords are showing. Second or third printing of the original edition. The title-page states "seconde edition", but it is probably the third, printed in the same year as the first and second, being a page-by-page re-impression of the second, except for the fact that corrections have been made and the errata-leaf is thus not printed in the third. Both the second and third original editions are from the same year and by the same printer as the first. "La seconde édition, également impr. en 1688 n'offre que quelques légers changements..., et la troisième, sous la même date, ne qu'une simple réimpression de la seconde." (Brunet III: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 literary genre in Europe, and the age of Enlightenment was delighted with the short, precise characterizations 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.

Amsterdam, Franciscus Halma, 1704. Folio. (45,5 x 29 cm.). Contemp. full blindtooled Dutch vellum. Raised bands. Spine ends with tears, some cracking along fronthinge, but not loose. Vellum at frontcover a bit soiled. Egraved titlepage (Coxis del., ianen fecit). Printed titlepage in red/black with an engraved vignette. 15,(119),51,(1) pp., 1 engraved plate with portrait and coat of arms. 4 large folded engraved maps. Light yellowing to margins of textleaves, but maps and text fine and clean. (3 of the maps engraved by F. Halma). The maps are the Francois Halma reissues of Sanson's maps from 1683.

Paris, 1885-86. Folio. Bound in one cont. hcalf. pp. 99-192 and pp. 1-192. Having many wood-cut illustr. with designs etc in the text and 64 beautifull large chromolithographed plates (19 double-page, 4 uncoloured).