Search Results

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

Coloniae Agrippinae (Köln), Sumptibus Anton. Hierati et Ioan. Gymnici, 1612. Folio. Bound in two contemporary, uniform full vellum bindings with remains of silk-ties on boards. Some traces of use to extremities. Some pages evenly browned, some brownspotted. First two volumes richly illustrated with woodcut diagrams, musical notes, earth- and heaven-maps etc. in the text, numerous woodcut initials throughout, engraved title-page. (10) pp, columns 1-168 (84 pp.), pp. 169 - 322, columns 323 - 452 (65 pp.) + (1) f., 238 pp. + (2) ff., columns 1 - 500 (250 pp.) + (2) ff., columns 1 - 916 (458 pp.) + (1) f., columns 1 - 816 (408 pp) + (1) f., columns 1 - 852 (426 pp.) + (2) ff., columns 1 - 485 (243 pp.) + (2) ff., columns 1 - 968 (484 pp.), 55 ff. (Index). Very rare, early, and apparently first complete edition of the seminal works by the "Father of English History", the venrable Bede. Bede’s most famous work, his "An Ecclesiastical History of the English People" (Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum)? begins with the invasion of the British Isles by Roman forces and is considered one of the most important historical records documenting Roman rule, Anglo-Saxon settlement and the evolution of the Church on the island. With its focus on Anglo-Saxon history, the work is considered a key foundational text in the forming of a national English identity. The "Ecclesiastical History" contains stories that serve as the only source documenting the conversion to Christianity of the Anglo-Saxon tribes. It tells the story of Britons from Julius Caesar’s invasion, to the time of Bede himself . He tells the story of battles, conversions and miracles performed by monks and bishops, and details Britain’s early history from the Roman invasion. He furthermore describes the organization and establishment of Christianity in the English church and covers the personal history of ?Holy Ethelwald and miracles of growth within the English church, such as the development of the bishopric. "Bede’s works fall into three groups: grammatical and “scientific,” scriptural commentary, and historical and biographical. His earliest works included treatises on spelling, hymns, figures of speech, verse, and epigrams. His first treatise on chronology, De temporibus (“On Times”), with a brief chronicle attached, was written in 703. In 725 he completed a greatly amplified version, De temporum ratione (“On the Reckoning of Time”), with a much longer chronicle. Both these books were mainly concerned with the reckoning of Easter. His earliest biblical commentary was probably that on the Revelation to John (703?–709); in this and many similar works, his aim was to transmit and explain relevant passages from the Fathers of the Church. Although his interpretations were mainly allegorical, treating much of the biblical text as symbolic of deeper meanings, he used some critical judgment and attempted to rationalize discrepancies. Among his most notable are his verse (705–716) and prose (before 721) lives of St. Cuthbert, bishop of Lindisfarne. These works are uncritical and abound with accounts of miracles; a more exclusively historical work is Historia abbatum (c. 725; “Lives of the Abbots”). In 731/732 Bede completed his Historia ecclesiastica. Divided into five books, it recorded events in Britain from the raids by Julius Caesar (55–54 BCE) to the arrival in Kent (597 CE) of St. Augustine of Canterbury. For his sources, he claimed the authority of ancient letters, the “traditions of our forefathers,” and his own knowledge of contemporary events. Bede’s Historia ecclesiastica leaves gaps tantalizing to secular historians. Although overloaded with the miraculous, it is the work of a scholar anxious to assess the accuracy of his sources and to record only what he regarded as trustworthy evidence. It remains an indispensable source for some of the facts and much of the feel of early Anglo-Saxon history." (Encycl. Britt). Only three editions of Bede's Opera Omnia are known before Dr. Giles' edition from 1843 - 44. The first was printed in 1563 and the third in 1688. The 1688-edition constitutes the second edition of the present 1612-edition which is "According to Dr. Henry, the only complete edition" (Lowndes I:143). These three editions are also the only ones known to have been printed in folio (though Lowndes mentions the 1688-edition as 4to). The 1612-edition is the rarest. Some of the works contained in this edition are said not to be Bede's own, as some of the many scientific, richly illustrated works on geography, the heavens, the universe, music etc. bear small resemblance to his other works. Lowndes I:143, Brunet 1:731.

N.d. Between 1882 (watermark-date in the paper) and 1886 (year of printing). This is an essay concerning parliamentary matters: "Big as the passing days are with hopes of events/ to come, hard as times are now, and/ troublous as the outlook is, there has seldom passed/ a month in which there is so little/ to say about the proceedings of that "representative"/ body called Parliament which according to the views/ of some worthy persons is the only instrument/ by means of which the construction of Society/ can be carried out..." It is especially related to Chamberlin: "There/ is Mr. Chamberlin's circular to the Boards of Guardians,/ which is as complete an exemplification of/ the helplessness of our present ggovernmental system/ as could be..." and to Ireland: "For after all the question England really is/ Shall Ireland separate with civil war or without it/ And for Ireland: "Shall we be allowed to deal with the Land as we think good?" Due to many handwritten corrections, there are many variations from the printed version. Printed in April 1886 in "The Organ of the Social Democracy." Volume 2, Number 15.

Wien, Carl Gerold, 1828-30. 8vo. Bound in 4 contemp. hcalf. Gilt spines with gilt lettering. Very light wear to top of spine on vol. 2. A stamp on title-pages and a previous owners name. A printed paperlabel on all 4 frontcovers. A few corners a bit bumped. VIII,439;IV,424;VIII,439;VI,520 pp. and 3 folded engraved plates. Internally clean and fine. First German edition (a translation from the Latin "Institutiones Calculi Integralis", 1768-70) of this landmark work on the integral calculus, being the most complete and accurate work on the subject at the time. It "contained not only a full summary of everything then known on this subject, but also the Beta and Gamma functions and other original investigations" (Cajori). The work exhibits Euler's numerous discoveries in the theory of both ordinary and partial differential equations, which were especially useful in mechanics."(Euler) presents methods of definite and indefinite integration, having invented many of the methods himself, such as the use of an "Euler substitution" for rationalizing particular irrational differentials. His treatment is near exhaustive for integrals expressive as elementary functions. He also develops the theory of ordinart and partial differential equations and presents many properties of the beta and gamma function Eulerian integrals introduced by Euler earlier."(Parkinson "Breakthroughs" 1768 M).Enestroem E 342, E 385, E 385 (The Latin edition). - Poggendorff I, 690.

Venezia (Venice), Giambatista Albrizzi, 1739. Folio. Beautiful cont. Cambridge-style full-calf bdg. w. six raised bands on back, back richly gilt, boards blindtooled and w. gilt line-borders, all edges blind-tooled. Corners slightly bumped and edges w. a bit of wear, but very well-preserved and tight bdg. Internally very nice and clean w. a small repaired tear to t-p. and f. 3, minor brownspotting to t-p. and upper margin of a few other leaves. Engr. frontispiece by Zucchi after Bertoli, t-p. in red and black w. engr. title-vignette, engr. text-vignettes and 665 text-illustrations, most of them engr., some full-page. Frontisp., (14), 444, 36 (Indexes) pp. First edition of this excellent and richly illustrated work on Italian antiques, inscriptions etc. from the city of Aquileja in Northern Italy. Originally by the author intended to be volume one of three, but the other two volumes never appeared.The city of Aquileja was founded as a Roman colony in 181 BC. Because of it being located where the trade routes from Italy, the East, and the countries beneath the Alps met, Aquileja became of great military and commercial importance. In the 4th century it was usually the seat of the reigning emperors. Bertoli (1676 - 1759), also called l'abbé Jean-Dominique, was an Italian literary and antiques-collector. This is his only work. Graesse 1:351.

Hamburg, Wierings Erben, 1721 (Part 1); Leipzig, Weidmann, 1721 (part 2); Leyden, Peter Robinson, 1721 (part III & IV). 8vo. Four parts uniformly bound in two contemporary full calf with four raised bands and gilt lettering to spine. Small paper-label to upper part of spines. Wear to extremities. Leather on spine cracked and scratches and soiling to bords. Front board on vol. 3/4 bended with outer margin partly broken off. Annotation in contemporary hand to front free end-paper in both volumes. Title-page and first leaves in vol. 1 soiled and with reapir. Folded plate closely trimmed with loss to lower margin, several tears, with some loss. Internally generally a good copy. [Vol. 1 & 2:] (14), 463, (1), (14), 448 pp. + frontispiece, 1 folded plate, 1 map and 5 plates (wanting 1).; [Vol. 3 & 4:] (6), 624 pp. + frontispiece and 2 plates. The very rare second edition of the first German translation of Dafoe’s Robinson Crusoe and the equally rare first German translation of Tyssot’s “La Vie, Les avantures, & le Voyage de Groenland”. From a first glimpse the two works seemingly are unrelated whereas in reality they are a fine testament to the Robinson Crusoe-craze that swept through especially Germany in the first half of the 18th century, being one of the earliest, the first or second, example of the literary genre of Robinsonade - a genre that features stories with plots similar to that of Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe". These stories typically revolve around a character who is stranded in a remote or isolated location, often an uninhabited island, and must rely on their own ingenuity and resourcefulness to survive. Both works are rare in themselves. We have not been able to trace a single similar set at auction. ”Tyssot’s second novel (“La Vie, Les avantures…“ here offered) enjoyed a great success in its day. There was only one French edition and whatever attention it attracted probably resulted from the sudden and widespread demand for desert island literature occasioned by the enormous popularity of Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe which was first published in 1719 and immediately translated into French and Dutch and, in the following year, into German. Tyssot’s novel was published in 1720 and was translated into German in 1721. According to Briiggeman, the title of the German edition was originally intended to be Reise um den Nordpol… but this was hastily changed to Des Robinson Crusoe Dritter und Vierter Theil… Perhaps this catch-penny title caused some demand for the novel in Germany although copies are now hard to find.”(Rosenberg, The Voyage De Groenland). “The popularity of Robinson Crusoe in Germany is evidenced not only by the amazing number of editions of the work itself, some of which found in the collection have previously been commented upon but by the large number of imitations which almost immediately made their appearance. If, in attempting to define the term "Robinsonade," one emphasizes particularly solitary isolation from man's companionship with its "charm that has bewitched the world," as Charles Lamb describes the universal romantic appeal of the central theme of Robinson Crusoe then this genre is not large. Include, however, more than one person, and the growing colony of Crusoe easily becomes a Utopia. Transfer the realistic oceans, ships, islands, and cannibals of Defoe to the realm of the unreal, the simple scenery of Robinson Crusoe becoming the romance of the old wonder-filled travel and adventure stories (…).” (Some Imitations of Robinson Crusoe - Called Robinsonades, The Yale University Library Gazette, Vol. 11, No. 2, October 1936) “The first German edition of Defoe’s anti-novel novel appeared in 1720 in Hamburg, published by T. von Wiering’s heirs. The translation was probably done by Ludwig Friedrich Vischer; “Vischer” signed the translator’s preface and dated it March 26, 1720—only eleven months after the book had first been published by W. Taylor in London. The year 1720 also saw translations of Crusoe into French and Dutch. "While the exact order in which these editions appeared remains unclear, scholars commonly assume, correctly I believe, that the Amsterdam French edition predated the first German edition in Hamburg, which in turn preceded the Dutch. The Hamburg edition by Wiering’s heirs was immediately pirated in another German edition, perhaps by Jonathan Adam Felßecker, although the title page listed only the information “Frankfurt & Leipzig, 1720.” The second German edition stole even Vischer’s preface, reprinting it in its entirety and signing it simply “des hochgeneigten Lesers Geflissenster der Ubersetzer” (the gentle reader’s most devoted translator). While Vischer purported to rely solely on the English edition for his Hamburg translation, Felßecker’s pirated edition clearly also copied from the French edition published in Amsterdam. While the Hamburg edition featured an engraved frontispiece copied after the original English published by W. Taylor, the frontispiece of the pirated edition copied that in the French translation published by L’Honoré & Chatelain in Amsterdam (fig. 15). Like that edition, the pirated edition was also outfitted with six engravings, which it advertised prominently on its title page. All six were copied after those in the edition that L’Honoré & Chatelain had richly illustrated. Whether French or English, a novelty, after all, needed fashion plates. By September of 1720, yet another edition appeared. This one advertised itself, in the publisher’s informative preface, as the “fifth” German edition. Within six months then, five different German editions of the English anti-novel novel had appeared. This latest edition gave only the year 1720 and “Frankfurt & Leipzig” on its title page (fig. 16). In all likelihood, it had been undertaken by Moritz Georg Weidmann, whose circumspection here contrasts sharply with the engraved portrait done five years later announcing the publisher’s prominence." (Wiggin: Novel Translations: The European Novel and the German Book, 1680 – 1730).

Königsberg und Leipzig, Kanter (Berlin, Stettin, Leipzig, Rüdigern), 1762-75. 4to. Bound in 13 uniform contemp. full calf. Raised bands. Richly gilt spines. Titlelabels with gilt lettering. On all boards the gilt monogram on red background of King Christian VII. A stamp on title-pages. Around 6000 pp., 4 folded tables and 366 folded engraved plates (1 plate in xerox-copy). Occassionally a few minor brownspots, but fine and clean. First German edition of this importent collection of books on crafts which is a translation of "Descriptions des Arts et Métiers..", published in French between 1761 and 1788. The full French series comprises 113 parts (cahiers) in 27 folio volumes along with three supplements, and "provide detailed accounts of a wide range of handcraft and manufacturing processes carried out in France at that time. The volumes are well-illustrated, with precise engravings by Jean Elie Bertrand (1737-1779) a noted typographer from Neuchâtel, where the printing was done. Many of them provide the background for shorter articles in Diderot's Encyclopedia, which was appearing at much the same time. The project had its origin in request from Colbert in 1675 to the Academy Royal des Sciences for detailed accounts of various mechanic arts to be prepared and for new machines to be reported upon. This led to the formation of the Bignon Commission under Abbé Bignon. René-Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur (1683-1757) became editor soon after he joined the Academy. He inherited number of drawings (the earliest prepared in 1693) and an illustrated manuscript on printing, type and book binding, which had been prepared in 1704. It was left to Réaumur's successor Duhamel du Monceau to bring about the publication of the series, probably as the result of the competition from the Encyclopedia." (Wikipedia).Brunet II,618 ff. (only French editions) - Graesse II, 367 (only the French editions). - Fromm, 7040.

Kiøbenhavn, Godiche,1763-81. 4to. Bind 1-6 indbundet i 6 samtidige, ensartede hellæderbind i flammet kalv. Ophøjede bind på rygge. Rig rygforgyldning. Forgyldte tome- og titelfelter. Bind VII afvigende i samtidigt hldrbd. med rig rygforgyldning. Ryg lidt slidt og forreste fals itu. Med alle 296 kobberstukne plancher, kort, prospekter, grundtegninger m.v. (heraf 17 foldekort, incl. det Generelle Danmarkskort 1763). Enkelte kort og plancher med nogle rifter og forstærkninger på bagsiden. Eksemplaret har tilhørt litteraturhistorikeren Carl S. Petersen og bærer hans navn på alle friblade. Udmærket komplet eksemplar på trykpapir. Originaltrykket af Danmarks topografiske hovedværk. De første tre bind nåede at udkomme inden Pontoppidans død, resten blev redigeret til trykken af Hans de Hoffman.Danske Atlas er den første store omfattende historisk-topografiske beskrivelse af Danmark, der med Hertugdømmet Slesvig dengang strakte sig helt til Eideren. det er et bredt anlagt værk med omfattende billedstof i form af kobberstukne prospekter, byplaner og store udfoldelige specialkort. I de fleste tilfælde er bybillederne ikke alene det ældste kendte af den pågældende lokalitet, men odte også det tidligst kendte.

London, Taylor & Francis, 1913. 8vo. Bound in one nice contemporary half calf binding with gilt leather title-label to spine. Published in "The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science", Vol. 26. No. 151-156 offered. Small repair to spine and blind stamped to lower part of title page. Front hindge a bit loose. A fine copy. The Bohr papers: pp. 1-25; pp. 476-502; pp. 857-875. [Moseley:] Pp. 1024-1034. [Entire volume: VIII, 1064 pp.+ 24 plates]. First edition of Bohr's seminal main work, which constitutes the departure from classical theories to the birth of modern atomic physics; by incorporating Planck's quantum postulate it became possible to calculate the wavelength of the hydrogen emission and thus to explain the regularity of the Balmer-lines. In 1922 Bohr was awarded the Nobel Prize "for his services in the investigation of the structure of atoms and of the radiation emanating from them"."Bohr's three-part paper postulated the existence of stationary states of an atomic system whose behavior could be described using classical mechanics, while the transition of the system from one stationary state to another would represent a non-classical process accompanied by emission or absorption of one quantum of homogeneous radiation, the frequency of which was related to its energy by Planck's equation" (Norman).In his previous paper ("On the Theory of Decrease of Velocity of Moving Electrified Particles on passing through Matter") Bohr had adopted Rutherford's nuclear model of the atom, and had become convinced that it was the peripherical electrons that determined the chemical properties of an element, whereas the nucleus determine the radioactive properties. However, Rutherford's model had an apparent explanatory problem: Why were the negatively charged electrons held away from the positive nucleus? In his doctorial dissertation on the electron theory of metals, Bohr had clarified the limitations of this theory, in particular its ability to explain magnetic properties, and he had shown how this arose from the classical nature of some of its foundations. Bohr strongly expected that the key to solving this problem was to be found in some way of introducing Planck's law of quantum action.In the beginning of 1913 Bohr heard about Rydberg's remarkable discovery in spectroscopy. Rydberg's formula could represent the frequencies of the lines of the hydrogen spectrum in the simplest form in terms of two integers. As soon as Bohr saw this formula, he immediately recognized that it gave him the missing clue to the correct way to introduce Planck's law of quantum of action into the description of the atomic systems. The rest of the academic year was spent reconstructing the whole theory upon the new foundation and expounding it in a large treatise, which was immediately published as these three papers in the 'Philosophical Magazine'. It was in these papers that Bohr first gave his postulates of the orbital structure of the electrons and their quantized radiation.Bohr's atomic theory inaugurated two of the most adventurous decades in the history of science. Bohr introduced the following postulates: 1. An electron can revolve about its nucleus only in certain special circular orbits. 2. The ordinary electron revolves about its nucleus in an invariable orbit, without radiating or absorbing energy. 3. Radiation takes place when and only when the electron falls from an orbit with greater energy to one of less energy."In his great papers of 1913, Bohr presented his theory as being founded upon two postulates, whose formulation he refined in later papers. The first postulate enunciates the existence of stationary states of an atomic system, the behavior of which may be described in terms of classical mechanics; the second postulate states that the transition of the system from one stationary state to another is a nonclassical process, accompanied by the emission or absorption of one quantum of homogeneous radiation, whose frequency is connected with its energy by Planck's equation. As for the principle by which the possible stationary states are selected, Bohr was still very far from a general formulation; indeed, he was keenly aware of the necessity of extending the investigation to configurations other than the simple ones to which he had restricted himself. The search for sufficiently general quantum conditions defining the stationary states of atomic systems was going to be a major problem in the following period of development of the theory." (DSB).Also contained in the volume is Henry Moseley's famous paper "The High-Frequency Spectra of the Elements" in which he "used the method of X-ray spectroscopy devised by Braggs to calculate variations in the wave length of the rays emitted by each element. These he was able to arrange in a series according to the nuclear charge of each element. [...] It was now possible to base the periodic table on a firm foundation, and to state with confidence that the number of elements up to uranium is limited to 92." (PMM 407).PMM 411Rosenfeld, Bohr Bibliography No. 6.

Christiania, 1871. In the original paper binding with printed paper boards. Renewed blank spine-strip. Inner hinges re-enforced. Large book-plate of Gereda Philipp to inside of front board. Presentation-inscription to front free end-paper. Last leaf evenly browned to verso, but otherwise internally very clean and fresh. Binding with minor wear to extremities, and paper over boards a bit bevelled. A splendid copy in the original printed boards. Housed in an exquisite orange half morocco box with marbled boards and gilt lettering to spine (Henning Jensen). The uncommon first edition of the “New Collection” of Asbjørnsen’s “Norwegian Folk-Tales” - being the continuation that contains the 45 Folk Tales numbered 61-105 -, signed and dated presentation-copy from the author, inscribed the same year that the book appeared, for “Hr. Dr. Brenner/ med Höiagtelse og Ærbødighed/ fra / P. Chr. Asbjørnsen/ Christiania Novbr. 1871”. The first collection of the seminal Folk-Tales had appeared ca. 30 years previously and was finished with the second expanded edition from 1852, which increased the number of fairy tales to 60. Here, we have the seminal continuation that completes the collection with the 45 additional tales (nrs. 61-105). As Asbjørnsen states in the preface, “There has been big appeal for the continuation of the material gathered back then, but for several years, other pursuits and chores have required so much time that there was none left to contemplate a more complete collection. My former co-publisher, Jørgen Moe, finally gave up and has given to me free disposition of his collections, which contained many valuable contributions… Only now I could begin thinking about fulfilling the work, t now presented in the present collection of Fairy Tales, on my own. Most of these Fairy Tales have… been printed in almanachs etc., but here they appear in a mostly completely rewritten and purified form. – A few of them have not previously been printed.” (Preface pp. III-IV – own translation from Norwegian). It was a great event in Norwegian intellectual life when Peter Chiristen Asbjørnsen (1812-1885) together with Jørgen Moe (1813-1882) began collecting and later publishing the Norwegian fairy tales in the beginning of the 1840’ies. The genre of fairy tales was centuries old and had survived through oral tradition. But the fairy tales had never been of any serious interest in intellectual circles nor been of any particular influence in literature, until the dawn of national romanticism. Asbjørnsen’s pioneering efforts to collect, register, and publish the Norwegian legends and fairy tales that had otherwise only survived in oral form, constituted a revolution in Norwegian literature and language. These seminal publications are a fundamental part of Norwegian heritage and a great national treasure. The publications of the fairy tales constituted an outright revolution in not only Norwegian, but also international literature, just as those of the Brothers Grimm in Germany had done. International recognition was overwhelming, and suddenly, Norwegian fair tales were considered among the best in the world. “Tell them like the people tell them” was the principle for the retelling of the stories. Moe was excellent at that, whereas Asbjørnsen had a superb epic talent. Asbjørnsen’s publications count as great literature in themselves and were extremely influential. The publication of the fairy tales and stories were extremely influential, not only upon literature in itself, but also more specifically upon the Norwegian language, also that of contemporary literature, directly influencing eg. Ibsen and Bjørnson. Asbjørnsen and Moe are responsible for the Norwegiazasion of the written language (which was hitherto Danish), utilizing specifically Norwegian expressions and words never before used in writing, to replace the Danish. These seminal fairy tales fundamentally effected the development of written Norwegian and founded the Norwegian softening of the Danish language. Presentation-inscriptions from Asbjørnsen are of the utmost scarcity and almost never appear on the market. Østberg: 51

(København), 1709. Folio. In contemporary full calf Cambridge-style mirror binding with blindstamped borders. Light wear to extremities. Seven leaves with minor repairs to margins, one leaf with a 15 cm long closed tear, and one leaf with an 30 cm long closed tear, all professionally executed and with no loss of imprint. Margins slightly soiled. 19 leaves, -text and frames engraved. The broad frames that all differ from each other ornamentally depict animals and plants as well as the different trades of the country. A nice copy printed on thick, heavy paper. Housed in a cardboard box.Provenance: From the collection of Danish book collector Viggo Lohse. The present copy was exhibited at 'Dansk Bibliofil-Klubs 50 års Jubilæumsudstilling' in 1992 (The 50 year anniversary exhibition for the Danish Society of Bibliophiles), no. 94. First edition of this landmark work of Danish book production and the constitution of the Danish absolute monarchy. The Royal Law established the absolute right of the Monarch to rule, and it defined the line of royal succession. It was more rigorous than the other monarchal laws of Europe at the time.The text which is written by Peder Griffenfeld is engraved in copper throughout, in order to prevent the possibility of re-printing, pirated editions and text-counterfeiting. Frederik Rostgaard, the King's state archivist who was famous for his excellent taste in books, was in charge of the editing and issuing of the work. In front of the actual law text a leaf is inserted with the portrait of King Frederik III on his horse, and everything, except for the head of the king which was engraved after his death-mask, is executed in the beloved flourishing- or scroll- manner of the time. The titles and the text are engraved throughout by Michael Røg.

Warszawa, March (27th and 31st) 1956. 8vo. Original printed wrappers. With "Wylacznie do uzytku organizacji partyjnych" ("Exclusively for inner-party use") printed to top of front wrapper. Stamped serial number to front wrapper: 12861. A few light creases to wrappers. A A very nice, clean, and fresh copy.Previous owner's name to title-page. 95, (1) pp. Extremely scarce second impression, printed for private circulation only ("exclusively for inner-party use"), of one of the most important documents of the 20th century, namely Khrushchev's so-called "Secret Speech", also known as the "Khrushchev Report". This seminal speech was delivered at an unpublicized closed session of Communist Party delegates, with guests and members of the press excluded, and the present Polish version, which appeard in two different printings, of it was the only one that circulated during the Cold War, the official Russian text being unknown until its 1989 publication. The CIA counterfeit edition [falsely stating Moscow 1959] was in fact a translation into Russian from the present Polish text, which was smuggled out of Moscow and leaked, via Israel, to the USA. There are two impressions of the first edition of Khrushchev's speech, both bearing the date March 1956 and both ordered by the Polish communist party authorities in the span of March 27 - March 31. As opposed to the even scarcer first priting of the text, this second priting of 96 pages was edited to give only Khrushchev's speech (without the recorded interjections and ovations), but containing also a second part, "Unpublished materials" with Lenin's "Testament", Lenin's "On the National Question", and Stalin's notes.The present publication shook the Western world and changed our history for good. "Its consequences, by no means fully foreseen by Khrushchev, shook the Soviet Union to the core, but even more so its communist allies, notably in central Europe. Forces were unleashed that eventually changed the course of history. But at the time, the impact on the delegates was more immediate. Soviet sources now say some were so convulsed as they listened that they suffered heart attacks; others committed suicide afterwards." (John Rettie, in The Observer, Sunday 26 February 2006 ).On February 24, 1956 before assembled delegates at a secret session of the Communist Party's Twentieth Congress, Nikita Khrushchev delivered his so-called "Secret Speech", denouncing Stalin for his transgressions. The public session of the 20th Congress had come to a formal end on 24 February 1956 when word was spread to delegates to return to the Great Hall of the Kremlin for an additional "closed session," to which journalists, guests, and delegates from "fraternal parties" from outside the USSR were not invited. Special passes were issued to those eligible to participate, with an additional 100 former Party members, recently released from the Soviet prison camp network. The speech was thus secretly held in this closed session, without discussion, and it was neither published as part of the congress' proceedings nor reported in the Soviet press. The speech that sent shock waves through the congress participants denounced Stalin, describing him as satanic despot and terrorist who had committed the greatest of crimes. Quoting from correspondence, memoranda and his own observations, Khrushchev gave details of Stalin's horrible actions during the Terror of the late 1930'ies, the unpreparedness of the country at the time of the Nazi invasion in June 1941, numerous wartime blunders, the deportation of various nationalities in 1943 and 1944, and the banishing of Tito's Yugoslavia from the Soviet bloc after the war. Absolving the party itself of these grave actions, Khrushchev attributed them to the "cult of personality" that Stalin encouraged and his "violations of socialist legality". According to Khrushchev's speech, Stalin was a tyrant, a murderer and torturer of party members.Khrushchev gave his grim tale of the obscene crimes committed by his predecessor, Josef Stalin, only three years after the death of Stalin, who was then celebrated as a great leader and whose death was mourned by the great majority of Soviet citizens, who saw him as a divine father. It is no wonder that this lengthy speech from their new leader completely shocked Soviet communists, being told so soon after his death that far from far from being divine, their hero Stalin was actually outright satanic. The leaders who inherited the party from the old dictator had agreed - after months of furious argument - that Khrushchev should make the speech, but on the condition that it should never be published.Khrushchev read from a prepared report and no stenographic record of the closed session was kept. No questions or debate followed Khrushchev's presentation, and it is reported that delegates left the hall in a state of complete disorientation. It is even said that several delegates suffered heart attacks and that some even committed suicide upon listening to the horrifying speech. On the evening of the congress, delegates of foreign Communist parties were called to the Kremlin and given the opportunity to read the prepared text of the Khrushchev speech, which was treated as a top secret state document. Reports of the speech soon reached the West and as early as March the contents were reported in Western media. "The content of the speech reached the west through a circuitous route. A few copies of the speech were sent by order of the Soviet Politburo to leaders of the Eastern Bloc countries. Shortly after the speech had been disseminated, a Polish journalist, Viktor Grayevsky, visited his girlfriend, Lucia Baranowski, who worked as a junior secretary in the office of the first secretary of the Polish Communist Party, Edward Ochab. On her desk was a thick booklet with a red binding, with the words: "The 20th Party Congress, the speech of Comrade Khrushchev." Grayevsky had heard rumors of the speech and, as a journalist, was interested in reading it. Baranowski allowed him to take the document home to read.As it happened, Grayevsky, who was Jewish, and had made a recent trip to Israel to visit his sick father, decided to emigrate there. After he read the speech, he decided to take it to the Israeli Embassy and gave it to Yaakov Barmor who had helped Grayevsky make his trip to visit Grayevsky's sick father. Barmor was a Shin Bet representative; he photographed the document and sent the photographs to Israel. By the afternoon of April 13, 1956, the Shin Bet in Israel received the photographs. Israeli intelligence and United States intelligence had previously secretly agreed to cooperate on security matters. James Jesus Angleton was the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) head of counterintelligence and in charge of the clandestine liaison with Israeli intelligence. The photographs were delivered to him. On April 17, 1956, the photographs reached the CIA chief Allen Dulles, who quickly informed U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower. After determining that the speech was authentic, the CIA leaked the speech to The New York Times in early June.""In the West, the impact of the speech received a colossal boost from the publication of the full, albeit sanitised, text in The Observer and the New York Times. This was the first time the full text had been available for public scrutiny anywhere in the world. Even local party secretaries who read it to members had to return their texts within 36 hours. (Those texts were also sanitised, omitting two incidents in the speech that Orlov related to me.)According to William Taubman, in his masterly biography of Khrushchev, the full text leaked out through Poland where, like other central European communist allies, Moscow had sent an edited copy for distribution to the Polish party." (John Rettie, in The Observer, Sunday 26 February 2006).The speech sent shock waves throughout the Communist world and caused many Western Communists to abandon the movement. In central Europe, the impact of the speech was enormous. By autumn Poland was ready to explode and in Hungary an anti-communist revolution overthrew the Stalinist party and government, replacing them with the short-lived reformist Imre Nagy."Some may doubt that Stalin's Soviet Union could ever have been reformed, but Khrushchev was not among them - and neither, indeed, was Gorbachev. But after two decades of decay under Brezhnev, even he could not hold the country together. It can well be argued that the 'secret speech' was the century's most momentous, planting the seed that eventually caused the demise of the USSR." (John Rettie, in The Observer, Sunday 26 February 2006).It is the present version of the seminal text that leaked behind the Iron Curtain. Allegedly the CIA offered USD 1.000.000 for a copy, before they came into possession of the text through other channels. Khrushchev himself stated: "It was supposed to have been secret, but in fact it was far from being secret.. our document fell into the hands of some Polish comrades who were hostile towards the Soviet Union. They used my speech for their own purposes and made copies of it. I was told that it was being sold for very little."Like the first impression, almost all the copies of this extremely scarce publication - which were all numbered and strictly registered - were withdrawn and destroyed after 11 April 1956. We have been able to locate no copies of either impression outside of Poland and can find no copies registered in OCLC.

Paris, Guillaumin et Cie, Victor Masson et Fils, 1862. 8vo. Bound partly uncut with the original wrappers in a very nice later full calf pastiche binding with four raised band and richly gilt spine. Gilt boarders to boards. Small repair to upper right corner of title-page, not affecting text. An exceptionally fine and clean copy. LXIV (incl. half-title), I-XXIII + (24-) 712. pp. and 1 folded plate (between pp.160 a. 161). The scarce first edition of the controversial first French translation - bound partly uncut and with the original wrappers - of Darwin's masterpiece, one of the most important books ever printed. This famed translation - done by self-taught female scholar - ended up causing quite a stir and adding to the theory of evolution some for Darwin quite unforeseen interpretations. Because of this, the translator, Clémence Royer, gained notoriety as one of the leading eugenicists of the time. Darwin was very eager to have his work published in French. It is not known exactly how he happened on Royer as the translator, but as she was familiar with the works of Lamarck and Malthus, immediately realized the importance of Darwin's work and also had close connections to the French publisher Guillaumin, she must have seemed perfect for the job. She had a naturalist help her with the biologically technical parts and made an excellent job of the translation. There was one big problem, however - she went well beyond her role as a translator and added a 60-page preface and numerous explanatory footnotes that Darwin had not seen before publication. In the preface, she challenged the belief in religious revelation, she discussed the application of natural selection to the human race, and she presented a pure eugenic theory, explaining the negative consequences of protecting the weak and the infirm. She also promoted her concept of progressive evolution, which had more in common with the ideas of Lamarck than with those of Darwin. Right after having seen the translation, Darwin wrote in a letter to the American botanist, Asa Gray: "I received 2 or 3 days ago a French translation of the Origin by a Madelle. Royer, who must be one of the cleverest & oddest women in Europe: is ardent deist & hates Christianity, & declares that natural selection & the struggle for life will explain all morality, nature of man, politicks &c &c!!!. She makes some very curious & good hits, & says she shall publish a book on these subjects, & a strange production it will be."After some reflection, however, Darwin began having more serious doubts, and about a month later he wrote to the French zoologist Armand de Quatrefages: "I wish the translator had known more of Natural History; she must be a clever, but singular lady; but I never heard of her, till she proposed to translate my book." He had now also read the footnotes and wrote to Joseph Hooker: "Almost everywhere in Origin, when I express great doubt, she appends a note explaining the difficulty or saying that there is none whatever!! It is really curious to know what conceited people there are in the world."Freeman No 655 (Freeman does not mention the plate, which is present here).

(1842) 1 leaf 8vo. With a later note in tiny neat handwriting to lower blank margin stating that Andersen's original handwritten poem was printed in "Hertha" 1842, p. 5. This excellent originally handwritten poem by the great fairy tale-author has the underlined headline "I Øehlenschlægers Album", but is also known under the title "Paa Nordens Himmel i Stjernernes Flok" (i.e. On the Sky of the North in the flock of the stars), which is also the first line of the poem. It was later printed, in the Swedish-Danish publication "Hertha", in January 1842, appeared again in "Digte, gamle og nye" in 1846, yet again in Andersen's collected works, vol XII, 252, 1879, as nr. 1 of the album leaves, and recently in a new modern Danish version by Johan de Mylius. This beautiful and treasured Andersen poem in full reads thus: Paa Nordens Himmel i Stjernernes Flok,Tycho Brahe har skrevet sit Minde,Og Thorvaldsen hug udi Fjeldets BlokSit Navn, det vil aldrig forsvinde;Du sang af dit Hjerte og Norden/ har hørtVed Dig sine største Bedrifter,Dybt Hjertets Gange har Hjerterne/ rørt,Din Storhed ei Tiden henvistner!Staaer Een i Stjernerne, Een i/ Steen,I Hjerterne veed jeg staaer ogsaa/ Een. We know that Andersen himself also treasured the poem and later also sent it to Zeise, who he hoped would translate it into German and have it published. BFN 413.

Sank Petersburg, Karla Kraija, 1828. 8vo. Bound uncut in one very nice contemporary green half calf binding with gilt spine. With four of the five lithographs, consisting in the large folded map of Mongolia with Iankinth's route from Peking to Kiakhta, outline-coloured in contemporary hand, the hand-coloured frontispiece-plate and three hand-coloured plates of costumes, without the one depicting the Chinese in summer dress (not always present?). A beautiful copy in absolutely excellent condition, with the frontispiece, three of the four plates, the map, both errata-leaves, both tables of contents, and title-pages for both volumes. First volume with light pencil-underlinings and light pencil-marginalia. XII, 230, (2); VI, (2), 339 pp. + frontispiece, three plates, and folded map. The exceedingly rare first edition of Monk Hyacinth's (i.e. Jakinf's/Iankinth's) important work on the history of Mongolia, which constitutes one of the earliest important travel accounts of the region since the middle ages. The work contains a description of Hyacinth's route up north of Mongolia (then under Manchu rule), a history of Mongolia and the Mongol regimes in China, descriptions of costumes, etc., and a section on regulations concerning the Mongols. As such, this important early work came to play a significant role in all later travel literature about Mongolia and was seen as a work of refenrence and great authority, which was frequently quoted by other writers on the field. "Little was reported to the West about Mongolia between the thirteenth and nineteenth centuries. During this period the Mongol empire rapidly disintegrated... When Christian missionaries began arriving in (Outer) Mongolia, beginning in 1798, they found an impoverished people ruled by a "living Buddha", the Bogd Khan... The Catholic missionaries was followed by a wave of Protestant missionaries" (Speake 2: 803), but most of the accounts of these missionaries are from the late nineteenth century and thus much later than Hyacinth's. "The archimandrate Hyacinth, late chief of the Russian mission at Peking, from whnce he returned in 1821, with Mr. Timkowski, is about to publish, at St. Petersburg, an "Account of Mongolia", in four volumes. The first volume will contain a narrative of his journey through Mongolia, and his return from Peking to Kakhta; the second, a geographical and statistical account of Mongolia; the third, a short history of the Mongols; and the fourth, the code of laws by which this nomade people is giverned. This work will contain a map of Mongolia, engravings of costumes, &c.The work was translated into German in 1832 under the title "Denkwürdigkeiten über die Mongolei". Both the Russian original and the German translation are of great scarcity. Lust: 186. Not in Greasse, not in Brunet.

[Circa 1870-1880]. An extensive series of 132 stunning photographs of Italy and Italian artwork, most measuring 25 x 17 cm, some slightly smaller, some slightly larger, all mounted on leaves measuring 30x42 cm. and bound in three exquisite near contemporary (ab. 1900) oblong black half morocco bindings with four raised bands, gilt spines, boards with elaborately gilt corners, gilt border and to the middle of front boards a gilt vignette, gilt title ("Italian" i.e. either Norwegian or Danish for Italy). and gilt volume-number. Housed in three equally elegant half morocco boxes with with gilt spines, marbled edges, and with middle of boards corresponding to those of the bindings. The boxes are also from ab. 1900. The boxes have a few traces of wear, but all in all, the set is in splendid condition.Many of the photographs have numberings and several of them also mention the motiv.Volume I contains 46 photographs, 8 by (Giacomo or his son Carlo) Brogi, 1 by Pompeo Pozzi, 4 by Maug and 33 unsigned. Most of the pictures are of ancient Roman buildings and renaissance art works. A few of the photos are from Milan.Volume II contains 49 photographs, 2 by Volpato and 2 by Brogi, the remaining 45 are unsigned. The first half depicts ancient Roman statues renaissance painting. The last part consists of photos portraying vast landscapes around the bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius and cityscapes Volume III consists of 37 unsigned photographs of artworks mainly from Museo di Napoli. An extensive and stunning collection of photographs from Italy, a splendid example of a Victorian Grand Tour photo album from Milan in the north down to Rome and ending in Napoli, photos prepared while the traveler shopped and visited the Italian sites.Photography studios in different Italian cities developed different specialties and were especially oriented towards the three genres of portraiture, views and art reproductions, of which the present collection is a fine example. "Among the activities of the most renowned firms (Brogi and Pozzi), there was ample space for the reproduction of works of art and monuments most representative of the art historical tradition and natural beauty of Italy. Nature was not only seen as such, but as an integral part of the landscape, and essential element of a whole in which nature and history, culture and nature harmoniously balanced and completed each other". (Hannavy, Encyclopedia of Nineteenth Century Photography)Most of the photographs by Brogi are presumably from his first Pompeii campaign from 1879-1880 which we exhibited in Milan the year after.

London, Impensis Gul. & Joh. Innys, 1719 (colophon: Londini: Ex Officina Gulielmi Bowyer, 1718). 8vo. Contemp. full calf. Corners, fronthinge and spineends professionally repaired. Inner hinges reinforced. Gilt lineborders on back. Titlelabel in red leather with gilt lettering. Old owners name stamped on titlepage (small).Instead of htitle is bound "Catalogus Librorum prostantium apud Gul. & Joh. Innys" (1 leaf), the Cataloque is furthermore bound at end, but with a different typography. (2),XI,(1),415 pp. and 12 folded engraved plates. Very light brownning to a few margins. Printed on good paper, in general fine and clean internally. Scarce second Latin edition of Newton's "Optics: or a Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections, and Colours of Light. London 1704.", one of the great books in the history of science. "Newton's Optics did for Light what his Principia had done for Gravitation, namely, placed it on a scientific basis." (E.W. Brown). The translation was brought to light "At the request of Newton, Dr. Samuel Clarke prepared a Latin edition of his Optics which appeared 1706, and he was generously presented by Sir Isaac with GBP 500, or GBP 100 for each of his five children, as a token of the appreciation and gratitude of the author. DeMoivre is said to have secured and taken charge of this translation, and to have spared neither time nor trouble in the task. Newton met him every evening at a coffe-house, and when they have finished their work he took De Moivre home with him to spend the evening in philosophical conversation."(Brewster in his "Newton", 1855")."In the accumulation of optical phenomena from his first paper (the short memoir in Philosophical Transaction, 1672) until the above book (the Optics,..) 33 years later, Newton had gathered explanations to many problems. The rainbow is fully explained and also "Newton's rings", produced by pressing the flat side of a plano-convex glass against a double convex lens of long focal lenght, producing rings of alternating brightness and darkness; his explanation was not valid, as he did not know optical interference. He speculated on the double refraction of Icelandic spar...." (Dibner in Heralds of Science No 148) - G.J. Gray No 180.

Kiøbh., Godiche, 1763 - 81. 4to. Indb. i 7 samt. helldrbd. m. oph. bd. på rygge m. skindtitelfelter i lysere skind og rig rygforgyldn. Biblioteksmærkater i skind m. guldtryk for oven og neden på rygge. Bd. 1, 2 og 7 en anelse mindre end de øvrige og m. lidt varierende rygforgyldn. Rygforgyldn. på bd. 1 og nedre kapitæl på bd. 4 slidt. Øvre bageste false på bd. 5 og 6 lidt revnede. Bd. m. brugsspor. M. 294 af de 295 kobberst. prospekter, plancher, grundtegninger og kort; mgl. det Generale Kort over Slesvig i bd. 7. Indimellem brunplettet. Nogle pl. m. lidt rifter og reparationer. Biblioteksstempler på titelbl. Uden det store Generalkort over Danmark, som ikke hører til alle eksemplarer. 2 kort og et prospekt ligger løse i bindene. Alt i alt et udmærket sæt af originaludgaven af Danmarks topografiske hovedværk.

Altona, J.F. Hammerich, 1807. 8vo. Bound in the two nice cont. uniform cardboardbindings w. marbled paper. Gilt lines and gilt title-labels to spines. Some wear w. minor loss of paper to capitals, hinges and corners. Small hole to paper as well as to leather title-label of spine of volume two. Some brownspotting, but overall a nice and atrractive copy. Lacking the half-tilte for the first book (merely stating "Erstes Buch"). XVI, 368; VIII, 358, (1) pp. Rare first German edition of this political and economic classic, which constitutes Malthus' first major publication and his main work, because of which he is considered the father of demography and one of the main sources of inspiration for Darwin and Wallace. It is the first translation of the "Principle on Population" into any language, and it influenced German politics tremendously.The first edition was printed anonymously in London in 1798, and in 1803 the second edition, which, also according to Malthus himself, can be said to constitute a new work, appeared; -the great quarto edition from 1803 is thoroughly revised and much enlarged, the title has been changed and Malthus' name appears on the title-page for the first time, it is on this edition that all the preceding editions are based, and in consequence also the early translations. All the later editions were minor revisions of the second one. In 1806 the third edition appeared, and as soon as 1807 the first German one, which is translated from the revised third edition ("Die gegenwärtige Uebersetzung ist nach der dritten Ausgabe, Oktav, London 1806. Die Quartausgabe ist minder vollständig", Vorwort, p. V). New revisions of the text kept appearing till the sixth edition in 1826. The book, then as now, is considered highly controversial, and it has influenced all demographers ever since, as well as being of immense importance to the study of economic theory and genetic inheritance. "The "Essay" was highly influential in the progress of thought in the early nineteenth-century Europe.... "Parson" Malthus, as Cobbett dubbed him, was for many, a monster and his views were often grossly misinterpreted.... But his influence on social policy, whether for good or evil, was considerable. The Malthusian theory of population came at the right time to harden the existing feeling against the Poor Laws and Malthus was a leading spirit behind the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834." (PMM 251).Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834), called the "enfant terrible" of the economists, was an English demographer, statistician and political economist, who is best known for his groundbreaking views on population growth, presented in his "Essays on the Principle of Population", which is based on his own prediction that population would outrun food supply, causing poverty and starvation. Among other things this caused the legislation, which lowered the population of the poor in England. Malthus actually turned political, economic and social thought upside down with this work, which has caused him to be considered one of the 100 most influential persons in history (Hart, The 100: A Ranking of the most Influential Persons in History, 1978). Of course, he was condemned by Marx and Engels, and opposed by the socialists universally, but the work was of immense impact on not only politics, economics, social sciences etc, but also on natural sciences. "Later in the "Origin of Species" he [Darwin] wrote that the struggle for existence "is the doctrine of Malthus applied with manifold force to the whole animal and vegetable kingdoms; for in this case there can be no artificial increase of food, and no prudential restraint from marriage" [p. 63]. Alfred Russel Wallace, who arrived at a worked-out formulation of the theory of evolution at almost precisely the same time as Darwin, acknowledged that "perhaps the most important book I read was Malthus's "Principles of Population" (My Life, p. 232). Although there were four decennial censuses before Malthus' death, he did not himself analyze the data, although he did influence Lambert Quetelet and Pierre Verhulst, who made precise statistical studies on growth of populations in developed countries and showed how the early exponential growth changed to an S curve." (DSB, IX, p. 69). As Malthus realized that his theories were not satisfactorily presented or sufficiently demonstrated in the first edition from 1798, he travelled for three years through Europe gleaning statistics, and then published the second edition in 1803. Among other places he travelled through Northern Germany, and his detailed diaries of these journeys provided him with some of the evidence necessary for the development of his theory on population growth. The observational information that he gathered on his travels in Europe were crucial to the development of his theories, which also means that the work is of great interest for other European countries, and not only Britain. "In 1819 the Royal Society elected Malthus to a fellowship. He was also a member of the French Institute and the Berlin Academy, and a founding member of the Statistical Society (1834)." (DSB, IX, p. 67). Printing and the Mind of Man 251 (first edition).

Basel, Eusebius Episcopius, 1586 & 1587. Folio (360 x 225 mm). 29 part uniformly bound in 5 contemporary full calf bindings with 6 raised bands. All bindings with wear and numerous wormholes to boards. All spine-ends chipped and with a bit of loss of leather. Boards with scratches and occassional loss of leather. Internally with light occassional marginal dampstains. Numerous wormtract throughout in all volumes. (40), 1180 pp.; (1181)-2196 pp.; (2199)-3246 pp.; (3247)-4226 pp. (4225)-4230, (1), 4230-4373, (1), (458) pp. Third edition of Zwinger’s early and extensive encyclopedic collection attempting to categorize and summarize human knowledge and experience: "perhaps the most comprehensive collection of knowledge to be compiled by a single individual in the early modern period." (Helmut Zedelmaier, "Navigieren im Text-Universum: Theodor Zwingers Theatrum Vitae Humanae). Complete early sets, as here, from the 16th century are rarely found in the trade. The present edition is the third overall edition, the second enlarged edition: “Zwinger’s Theater of Human Life had been issued in one volume in 1565, in enlarged editions of 1571 and 1586 [The present], then by his son in 1604. The arrangement was topical by subject. In 1631 a further enlargement in alphabetical order by Laurens Beyerlinck was published at Cologne in eight doule columned folio volumes.” (Thorndike VIII, p. 271). The work is a fine excample of the Renaissance humanist tradition, emphasizing the collection and organization of knowledge from various fields such as philosophy, medicine, ethics, and natural sciences. Zwinger's work draws upon both classical sources as well as more contemporary knowledge. The 29 parts are divided as follows: Binding 1: 1, Volumen primum Ea quae animi bona atque mala dicuntur. 2, Volumen secundum Ea quae vulgo corporis bona mala´que dicuntur. 3, Volumen tertium Ea quae vulgo fortuita bona mala´que dicuntur. 4, Volumen quartum De habitibus organicis sive facultatibus logicis vulgo` dictis h.e. de philosophiae instrumentis. Binding 2: 5, Volumen quintum De philosophicis habitibus theoricis, veri cognitionem potissimu`m spectantibus. 6, Volumen sextum De philosophicis habitibus practicis ad boni cognitionem simul & possessionem primario` conferentibus. 7, Volumen septimum Quo habitus intelligentiae practici, prudentia scilicet, cum suis extremis, calliditate & stultitia. 8, Volumen octavum De fortitudinis, & contrariorum vitiorum, audaciae scilicet & timiditatis, speciebus. Binding 3: 9, Volumen nonum De temperantia & intemperantia circa voluptates corporis. 10 ,Volumen decimum De moderatione & immoderatione circa pecunias & opes quaslibetcunque. 11, Volumen undecimum De moderatione & immoderatione circa gloriam & honores. 12, Volumen duodecimum De moderatione & immoderatione circa iram & vindictam. 13, Volumen decimumtertium De veritatis practicae studio, de simulatione & dissimulatione. 14, Volumen decimumquartum De humanitate & contrariis vitiis, blanditia & morositate. 15, Volumen decimumquintum De urbanitate & contrariis vitiis, scurilitate & rusticitate. 16, Volumen decimumsextum De iustitia religiosa. 17, Volumen decimumseptimum De iniustitia religiosa. Binding 4: 18, Volumen decimumoctavum De iustitia profana. 19. Volumen decimumnonum Iniustitiam profanam distributivam atque correctivam. 20, Volumen vigesimum De mechanicis habitibus. 21, Volumen vigesimumprimum De instrumentis actionum & passionum humanarum. 22, Volumen vigesimumsecundum De beatitudine & miseria humana. 23, Volumen vigesimumtertium De locis humanarum actionum & passionum. 24, Volumen vigesimumquartum De tempore humanas actiones & passiones mensurante. 25, Volumen vigesimumquintum De vita hominis solitaria. 26, Volumen vigesimumsextum Vitam hominis academicam persequens. 27, Volumen vigesimumseptimum Vitam hominis religiosam exponens. Binding 5: 28, Volumen vigesimumoctavum De vita hominis politica. 29, Volumen vigesimumnonum Oeconomicam vitam hominis. [30] Quatuor locupletis indices. Adams Z 215.

Hauniæ (Copenhagen), Mölleri, 1775. 4to. Contemp. marbled boards. Small nicks to coverpaper at edges. (1-7)8-32,CXXVI,(2),219,(1) pp., 1 engraved map (Tabula Arabiæ Felicis). A few faint brownspots. Clean and fine, printed on good paper. First edition of Forskål's fundamental description of the plants of Yemen and lower Egypt found on the Danish expedition to Arabia. As Forskål died in Jerim it was Carsten Niebuhr, the leader of the expedition and only survivor, who published Forskål's manuscripts. Many botanical species are here described for the first time. Forsskål was one of the most gifted disciples of Linnaeus.Staffleu & Cowan, 1819. - Pritzel, 2969.

Vinegia (Venice), Apresso i Giunti, 1565. - Colophon: In Veneta, Nella Stamperia di Domenico Nicolini;...de gli heredi di Luc'antonio Giunt, 1565. Folio. (30 x 21 cm.). Bound later (around 1800) in hcalf. Spine divided in 6 compartments, all richly blindtooled and in the middle of each a small gilt rosette. A crack to joint (2 cm.) at upper compartment. Light wear along edges. Marbled endpapers. Red edges. (22),286 leaves. With engraved map (a reproduction in smaller size of "Carta Marina") - the map in FACSIMILE, and more than 450 fine woodcut illustrations in the text, the the greatest part measuring 59 x 93 mm, a few half-page and some 1/3-page. Woodcut device on title-page and on colophon-leaf. Title-page mounted and with small closed tears. Title-page slightly soiled. A faint dampstain to upper corners on Index-leaves ("Tavola"), which appears again in more weakened form towards end. A faint dampspot in upper inner margin throughout. The last few leaves with a bit of browning, 2 small holes in last leaf with loss of a few letters. First Italian edition (and in full), being the second folio-edition as well as the second edition in the vernacular, of Magnus' great work "Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus", 1555, which constitutes one of the most important sources on the Northern customs and daily life of the time. The present first Italian edition published 10 years after the first edition, which is in Latin, Rome 1555. A French translation appeared, in 8vo, in 1560-61). In reality, this famous work is a large commentary and notes to Olaus Magnus' own map, the famous "Carta Marina", which he published in Venice in 1539, of which only two copies are known. The Carta Marina ("Map of the Sea" or "Sea Map"), is the earliest map of the Nordic countries that gives details and place names. Only two earlier maps of Scandinavia are known, those of Jacob Ziegler and Claudius Clavus. The "Carta Marina" is reproduced here in smaller size, but in facsimile.The woodcut illustrations and views - here printed with the same woodblocks as the Rome edition of 1555 - are of the greatest importance to the cultural history of the Nordic countries, as they illustrate the religions, folklore, occupations, as well as the geographies, fauna etc. of the Scandinavian people. They have since been reproduced a number of times. The artist is not known, but they are probably carved after sketches by Olaus Magnus himself. Swedish Books 1280-1967, No. 18. - Collijn "Sveriges Bibliografi intill År 1600", II: p. 221.

Paris, nrf, Librairie Gallimard, 1943. 8vo. Orig. printed wrappers, uncut and first quire unopened. Light traces of use, but overall remarkably fresh. Spine very slightly darkened and wrappers with very light scattered brownspotting. A small, vague couloured thump bark to lower corner of front wrapper (and first leaves). An unusually good copy, as the fragile wrappers are often much more worn. Also internally unusually fresh. Wrappers printed in red and blue. With half-title. 722, (2) pp, 2ff. (one with colophon). The very rare first edition, first impression from "Bibliothèque des idées" printed on 25th of June 1943 ("Le vingt-cinq juin mil neuf cent quarante-trois" (colophon) ), rare review-copy (with "S.P. - Service des Presses) to back wrapper. With the printed dedication "au CASTOR" (i.e. for Simone de Beauvoir"). This, the first edition of Sartre's first and main philosophical work, which is one of the absolutely most important philosophical works of the 20th century, passed virtually unnoticed, as it appeared in the summer of 1943, which is why it is now extremely scarce. It didn't reach recognition till 1945, thus very few copies of the first edition have been preserved. "Achevé au debut de 1943, le livre parut en été et, étant donné les circonstances, passa à peu près inapercu. Il fallut attendre 1945, année aù la vogue soudaine de Sartre attira sur son oeuvre maîtresse une attention qu'aucun ouvrage philosophique n'avait connue précédemment, pour que les commenteurs s'en ampareut;" (Contat & Rybalka p. 86). Even though the work was hardly noticed when it first appeared, a few scholars acknowledged it as a great work of seminal character, importance and novelty; in 1964 Michel Tourier writes: "Un jour de l'automme 1943, un livre tomba sur nos tables: "L'Être et le Néant". Il y eut eu moment de stupeur, puis une longue rumination. L'oeuvre était massive, hirsute, débortante, encyclopédique, superbement technique..." (Les Nouvelles littéraires, 29 octobre 1964).Sartre is first and foremost known for his philosophical works, and as "L'être et le néant" ("Being and Nothingness") is generally accepted as his greatest and main work, this marks the beginning of 20th century existentialism, and furthermore "has also come to be regarded as a text-book of existentialism itself..." (Mary Warnock's Introduction to Hazel E. Barnes' translation). This, his seminal work of existentialism, marks one of the most influential philosophical movements of our age.Contat & Rybalka, Les Écrits de Sartre, 1970.

Kiøbenhaffn, Hans Støckelman oc Andreas Gutterwitz, 1575. Folio. Velbevaret, nær samtidigt hellæderbind over træ med ophøjede bind på ryggen. Rygfelter med blindtrykte stempler. Med begge originale messinghængsler. Ryg med svage krakeleringer og lidt overfladeslid langs ryggens kanter. Titelblad itrykt i rødt/sort. Titelbladet omkantet, men uden tab. Fr. II's træskårne portræt trykt på bagsiden af titelbladet. (36),547,(33) pp. Trykt på godt svært papir og ualmindelig ren med kun få svage marginale brunpletter. Et blad i Fortalen omkantet og nogle få små bladhjørner restaurerede. Originaludgaven af den første dansk-sprogede Saxo-Udgave - et monumentalværk i dansk litteratur, idet værket først med Vedels oversættelse nåede frem til den almene læser. The first printed Danish translation of Saxo Grammaticus "Danorum Regum heroumque Historie".Laur. Nielsen 1451 - Thesaurus 205 (Ed. A).

Helmstedt, H. Muller, 1669 (De Hermetica) & Copenhagen, Matthias Godiche for Peder Haubold, 1668 (De Ortu). 4to. In contemporary vellum over wooden boards. Title in contemporary hand to spine. Extremities with soiling and some marks and dots. Vellum gapping at the outer edge of the front board, partly detaching and showing the underlying wooden board. Light occassional discolouration throughout, stain to upper outer margin, not affeting text. Last leaf detached. [De Ortu...:] (14), 150, (2) pp.; [De Hermetica...:] (24), 447, (51) pp. A highly interesting sammelband consisting of two rare works: the first edition of Danish scientist and physician Ole Borch’s “De Ortu, et Progressu Chemiæ” (1668), and the second edition of Hermann Conring’s “De hermetica medicina”, published as a reply and refutation of Borch’s work. Borch’s ”De Ortu, et Progressu Chemiæ” was published as a reply to Conring’s “De Hermetica Aegyptiorum” (1648). Conring in turn expanded his “De Hermetica Aegyptiorum” to function as a critical comment to Borch’s “De Ortu” and published it in 1669 under the different title “De hermetica medicina libri duo” The two works here presented in one binding are both interesting and important in their own right; together they constitute a fascinating glimpse into 17th century debates and science relating to hermetica. The Lutheran professor Hermann Conring (1606-1681) was one of the most important exponents of Galenic medicine and institutional Aristotelianism as practiced in the middle of the seventeenth century His perhaps most famous work, “De Hermetica Aegyptiorum vetere et Paracelsicorum nova medicina” (1648), provides a series of accounts of debates on the magical power of plants, which, according to Conring, a convinced anti-alchemist and anti-Paracelsian, belonged to the realm of poetry, not to nature. This claim quickly provoked a reply (here offered) by Ole Borch (1626-1690), Danish physician, chemist, and polyhistor, who was much more inclined to Paracelsism and Hermeticism. It gave rise to several controversies, all concerned with Hermes Trismegistus and the works attributed to him. Conring’s and Borch’s standpoints were wide apart. For Borch for instance, chemistry was an age old discipline going back to pre-diluvian Tubalcain, originating in Egypt and then passing on to Greece, whereas Conring followed the tradition according to which Moses had introduced this discipline in Egypt. Borch, for his part, believed Moses to have received his knowledge in Egypt from none other than Hermes Trismegistus. It is obvious that these standpoints also influenced Conring’s and Borch’s interpretations of Homer's and Hermes' herb theories and expositions. “In 1668 Borch initiated a controversy in his dissertation De ortu et progressu chemiae. In 1669 Conring reacted with a second edition of his Hermetica medicina, published under a slightly different title and complete with an apologeticus addressing Borch. Listing Orpheus, Pythagoras, Empedocles, and many others said to have excelled in “magical medicine” (magica medicina), Conring also mentions Homer and his famous moly. Homer’s familiarity with magical arts, Conring says, is brought out by the Odyssey. As Pliny said, magical arts were the origin of the poet’s works. Though Conring does not doubt the power of moly, he argues, this power does not work through magic, since healing wounds or alike through incantations is magical. This last point is doubted by Conring. A few lines later he also makes it clear that a “magical power” (magica vis) attributed to a plant by some magi or idolaters cannot be considered natural (naturalis vis). Since moly belongs to magic in Homer’s poetry, it must be interpreted as part of poetical fiction, Conring argues. It is a magical plant, regardless of how inaccurate this might seem from the point of view of natural sciences. Considering the presence of incantations in the Homeric passage, identifying moly with a real-world plant is more than questionable.” "Ole Borch did not agree. Since 1660 he was a professor extraordinarius lecturing in a very practice-oriented way not only on botany and chemistry, but also on poetics. Borch’s extensive output in the field of poetics was well received even beyond the university of Copenhagen. In his reply, he urges Conring to stop trying to impose views that had not been verified. According to Borch, physicians of the past have shown that plants may legitimately (legitime) defeat diseases induced by incantation. Physicians and astronomers, such as the Paracelsian Bartholomaeus Carrichter, had stated that black hellebore or hypericum seemed most efficient especially as regards diseases of the mind. There is no reason, says Borch, to attribute simple superstitio to Homer. Has the commentary tradition not shown that moly being “difficult to extract for mortals but not for gods” could also mean it being simply hard to find? Indeed, is it not hard to find most of these plants which are reported to be most effective against mental diseases? Galen himself had stated it on several occasions. The true nature of moly aside, while the practices and ceremonies described by the poet were, of course, superstitious, the thing (res), i.e. the plant, must have worked in a natural way (naturaliter)?” (Wallura, HERMES' HERB: Homer’s moly and Early Modern Iatrophilology) The feud between Borch and Conring testifies to the strong and prominent role that hermetic and Paracelsian ideas played in the scientific and philosophical debate in 17th century Europe. Duveen 89 ("celebrated treatise")Ferguson I, 119Waller 15422 Wellcome II, 206