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Kopenhagen, Möller, 1774-78. 4to. 2 vols. A well-preserved copy with wide margins, printed on strong paper with red edges, bound in contemporary full marbled leather, richly gilt on the spines. With two engraved vignettes, 124 copperplates (partly folded or double), and one large folded map. XVI, (6), 505; (16), 479 pp. First edition. This pioneering work by the Danish orientalist Carsten Niebuhr (1733–1815) remains one of the most important sources of knowledge on Arabia. It includes views, portraits of local people, scenes from daily life, as well as depictions of antiquities, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Syrian cuneiform inscriptions, idols, and more. Of the five scientists sent by the Danish government on the expedition, initiated by J. H. E. Bernstorff, Niebuhr was the sole survivor to return to Denmark; the other four perished during the journey. The title vignettes were engraved by J. F. Clemens after drawings by Wiedewelt. Most of the engravings were based on drawings by Baurenfeind, who died during the expedition, while others were drawn by Niebuhr himself. The plates were engraved by Clemens, the Haas brothers, C. Defehrt, C. Martin, and others. Birkelund 141.

Franckfurt am Main, Johann Philipp Andreae,1689. Folio. (33 x 21 cm.). Contemp. full vellum. Light scratching to backcover. Stamps on title-page. Engraved title-page and printed title-page in red and black. 2 engraved part-titles. (6),494,(6);410,889 pp. 128 engraved plates, more than 300 textillustrations in woodcut and more than 20 engraved textillustrations. Internally clean and fine. Dilich's book of war is an encyclopaedia of war, comprising: metallurgy (forging of weapons), mathematics (ballistics of projectiles), chemistry (production of gunpowder), architecture (construction of fortifications), engineering (sapper tasks), economy (accounting for pay), logistics (Logistik, moving troops, ordnance), veterinary medicine (equine pharmacology), surgery (for the amputation of limbs), of course strategy, and even ethics (strengthening the morale of the troup).Jähns, 956. - Klaus Jordan, 896.

Paris, Beaurin, Poirion, Jombert, 1755-56 Folio. (41 x 30 cm.). 3 uniform contemp. hcalf. Raised bands. Gilt spines. Title-and tomelabels with gilt lettering. Stamps on title-pages. A paperlabel pasted on upper part of spines. Light wear along edges. (6),IV,410 pp. With 5 title-pages. 11 large engraved vignettes. Atlasvolumes with 2 engraved title-pages and 147 (of 148 - lacking map 20 in part 4) double-page engraved topographical plans and maps, nearly all with handcoloured positions, symbols and routes. Some maps in triple-folio and folded. Printed on thick paper. 2 textleaves with a faint dampstain in margins. First edition of Jean de Beaurain's main work on the military history of Flanders. Beaurain (1696-1771) was a French geo- and cartographer, who studied under the famous Pierre Moulart-Sanson in Paris. Sloos. Warfare and the Age of Printing, 12227. First edition. - Brunet I,722.

London, Iohn Windet, 1608. 12mo. In contemporary full calf. Small paper-label pasted on to top of spine. Wear to extremities, corners bumped. Edges of boards with loss of leather. Previous owner's names to front and back end paper ("Robert Wilson" & "Edvard Wilson, anno domini 1666"). Internally with a few light dampstains. (20), 328, 328-499, (4) pp. The exceedingly rare second edition (the first being from 1586) of Roger’s somewhat free translation of ‘Papist’ Diego de Estalla’s work “Libro de la vanidad del mundo (Toledo, 1562). Roger’s admit that he had no access to the original but had to use the Itanlian and Spanish translations. This present English translation, however, is of significant interest since recent research suggests it was a source and inspiration for Shakespeare’s ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’: At the opening of ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’, the vow to renounce worldly pleasure has barely been announced before one of Navarre’s book-men declares his success: “Dumaine is mortified” (I.i.28). This ‘mortified’ is not a word Shakespeare would use often. It appears here in the sense of ‘having the appetites and passions in subjection’ and insensible or impervious to (the world and its pleasures), the latter informing Dumaine’s gloss: ‘To love, to wealth, to pomp. I pine and die’. The fact that this is the earliest use of ‘mortified’ in the Shakespearean canon is the first clue that one of the sources for Love’s Labour’s Lost was Thomas Roger’s A Methode unto Mortification, published in London in 1586 and again in 1608. Shakespeare’s pleasure in frustrating the ambitions of this book went some way to shaping his play”. (Kingsley-Smith, A Method unto Mortification: A New Source for Love’s Labour’s Lost). "Love's Labour's Lost" is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s. The play revolves around the King of Navarre and three of his noble companions who make a pact to swear off women and focus on scholarly pursuits for three years. However, their resolve is tested when the Princess of France and her entourage arrive on a diplomatic mission. Each of the men falls in love with one of the women, leading to a series of comedic misunderstandings, romantic entanglements, and wordplay. “It is also possible that some facts about the original author sparked Shakespeare’s interest. Diego de Estella was born in Navarre, and spent time the court of Philip II of Spain before incurring disapproval for his criticism of court life and being forced into a Franciscan monastery. Armado, the braggart and clown of Love’s Labour’s Lost, is the first Spaniard to appear in Shakespeare”. (Kingsley-Smith, A Method unto Mortification: A New Source for Love’s Labour’s Lost).

Paris, Guillyn, 1751. 8vo. Uniformly bound in three very nice contemporary full sprinkled calf bindings with five raised bands and richly gilt spines. Vol. 1 missing top 5 mm. of spine. Small paper-label pasted on to upper part of spines, indicating the inventory number in an estate library. Small worm-tract in lower margin of vol. 3, far from affecting text. A very nice set. (12), 456, (24) pp. + 8 folded plates; (36), 365, (3) pp.; (8), 400 pp. + 4 folded plates. Rare second edition, first with all three volumes published simultaneously, of arguable one of the most important and influential 18th century book on gastronomy. Here Menon for the first time explicitly describes the recently invented “nouvelle cuisine: a tendency to put food and nutrition on a scientific basis, its functions in the body, reducing the number of varieties offered at a meal, lighter foods and bringing simpler presentations to the table. Menon embraced a comprehensive approach to the culinary customs of his era, extending beyond mere food preparation and presentation. His works highlighted the significance of action, strategy, and demeanor, emphasizing that these aspects were equally crucial. His books served not only as guides to gastronomic practices but also as manuals for proper conduct and manners. For instance, in this present work, he incorporated a diagram illustrating the meticulous organization of dishes discussed throughout the books. Menon had what we would today call a holistic approach to gastronomic practices of his day that went well beyond the preparation and presentation of food. Several of his titles make clear that action, strategy and deportment were just as important. His book were as much about ways of acting as they were about food itself, like style-guides for gastronomic mores and manners. For instance, in his Nouveau traite, there is a diagram showing the careful arrangement of dishes that are described in the course of the books. "François Menon was the most influential and prolific French cookbook author of the eighteenth century. During his time, today's familiar categories of French cooking were emerging, and Menon was a master of them all: nouvelle cuisine (a term that each generation redefines); haute or classical cuisine; and cuisine bourgeoise. He even wrote the first French cookbook devoted specifically to a woman cook (La cuisinìere bourgeoise)... Menon first described the new cuisine in detail in the third and final volume of Nouveau Traité de la cuisine (New Treatise on Cooking, 1742). In contrast to traditional cooking, he wrote, the key to nouvelle cuisine was delicacy. Sauces were lighter but at the same time more nourishing; seasonings aimed to enhance rather than mask lead ingredients... Menon not only wrote about the practicalities of nouvelle cuisine; he was also concerned with philosophy, linking his mission closely to that of the leading thinkers of the Enlightenment: to advance and disseminate knowledge that allows humankind to live in a state of nature perfected." (Willan, The Cookbook Library, pp. 218-19). Vassallo, Catalogo dei libri esistenti nella pubblica biblioteca di Malta p. 118.

Verlag v.H.Georg im Basel u. Genf, (um 1865). Folio-oblong. Orig.leather backed pictorial cloth. Engr. title, 45 steel-eng.plates after J.Ulrich and ab. 200 engr. views in the text. Title and mostof the plates with occasional faint brown-spottings, mostly in margins.

(Copenhagen, DMI, 1893-1930). Small folio. The issues 1893-1915 are all bound with all the original printed wrappers (stating that they are off-prints) for every issue (except for the front wrapper for the first issue) in four near contemporary blue half cloth bindings with gilt titles and years to spine. The issues 1916-1930 are all present in the original printed wrappers and housed in three custom-made slipcases identical to the four preceding volumes. Ste back wrapper of the 1924-issue is loose. Otherwise the set is generally in excellent condition, with stamps from the Danish Meteorological Institute, in the holdings of which it has been until the present day. With numerous charts and maps throughout. Scarce run of the important first Arctic Sea Ice Charts from the Danish Meteorological Institute, all in off-prints from the Meteorological Year Books of Danish Meteorological Institute, constituting a continuous run, from its very beginning in 1893, of the first 38 years. These earliest Arctic Sea ice measurements and charts are absolutely fundamental for the monitoring of sea ice and, for our ability to determine the extent of the acceleration of global warming, and for the possibility of potentially changing climate patterns. "...the maps from the Danish Meteorological Institute. These are remarkable for their information value and because they represent a cooperative international effort to report ice conditions in a systematic way that was sustained over decades." (Florence Fetterer: Piecing together the Arctic's sea ice history back to 1850, in: Carbon Brief). "These charts, created by the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI), provide observed and inferred sea ice extent for each summer month from 1893 to 1956. From 1893 to 1956, the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) created charts of observed and inferred sea ice extent for each summer month. These charts are based on compiled observations of ice conditions reported by a variable network of national organizations, shore-based observers, scientific expeditions, and ships as detailed in each report; in cases where no observations were available, the lead mapmakers extrapolated further ice cover using their knowledge of ice movement." (DMI - Danish Meteorological Institute). The early surveillance of the Arctic Sea Ice has been of immense importance to the development of climate change science. It is the cause of the determination of global warming and the primary proof we have of the deterioration of sea ice, the heating of the oceans and the rice of Arctic temperatures. These seminal charts constitute one of the very most important sources to our understanding of this world-threatening phenomenon. "Over the last three centuries, geographers, oceanographers, geophysicists, glaciologists, climatologists, and geoengineers have shown great interest in Arctic Ocean sea ice extent. Many of these experts envisaged an ice-free Arctic Ocean. This article studies three stages of that narrative: the belief in an ice-free Arctic Ocean, the potential for one, and the threat of one. Eighteenth and nineteenth century interest in accessing navigable polar sea routes energised the belief in an iceless polar sea; an early twentieth century North Hemispheric warm spell combined with mid-century cold war geostrategy to open the potential for drastic sea ice loss; and, most recently, climate models have illuminated the threat of a seasonally ice-free future, igniting widespread concerns about the impact this might have on Earth's natural and physical systems. This long narrative of an ice-free Arctic Ocean can help to explain modern-day scepticism of human-induced environmental change in the far north." (An ice-free Arctic Ocean: history, science, and skepticism).

Leipzig, M. G. Wiedmanns Erben und Reich, 1777. 8vo. Uniformly bound in two contemporary half calf binding with gilt lettering to spines. Gilt library stamp to both stamps and red library stamp to both title-pages. Deaccession-stamp (dated 20-1-1948) to both pasted down front end-paper. Some wear to extremities, leather on spine cracked and head of spines chipped. Internally very nice and clean. LVI, 784 pp.; XXVI, 834, (2) pp. Uncommon first edition of Tetens’ seminal work which was a major influence on Kant and his development of his synthetic a priori theory. Tetens has also been referred to as the "German Locke”. “(The present work) is essentially an investigation of the origin and structure of human knowledge and was the most important philosophical work written in Germany during the period immediately prior to the publication of the Critique of Pure Reason (1781) by Kant, who valued Tetens’ work highly. Kant reiterated Tetens’ emphasis on the importance of empirical foundations for philosophical studies. He was also influenced in the construction of his own theory of human knowledge by Tetens’ threefold division of consciousness into the faculties of feeling, will, and understanding. By the last category he referred to the faculty of forming and combining ideas.” (Encyclopedia Britannica). “Like the British empiricists, Tetens begin with an account of sensations and ideas. Ideas are described as due to the operation of the traces caused by sensations. He compares the relation of memories to sensations with the relation of visual after-image to the initial sensation, memories being due to continued activity in the eye. (…) He accepts two laws of association, namely, similarity and contiguity in time and space, but he rejects Hume’s third type of association, causality. He clears up Berkeley’s and Hume’s difficulties with general ideas, by distinguishing clearly between the idea (in the sense of image) and its meaning.” (Wolf, A History of Science Technology and Philosophy in the 18th Century, P. 690) Provenance: From the library of Danish philosopher and author Carl Henrik Koch.

Basel, Brandmylleri, 1683. 4to. In a contemporary Cambridge-style mirror binding with five raised bands and richlt gilt spine. Small paper-label pasted on to top of spine. Head of spine chipped, showing headbands. Small repair to spine. Lower outer corner of back board with large scratch showing the board underneath. Four-line note in contemporary hand to front free end-paper. Previous owner's name in contemporary hand to title-page. Internally fine and clean. (18), 354, 121, (1) pp. + 1 folded plate. First (only?) edition of mathematician Megerlin's work that combines mathematics, history, and theology to create a detailed historical and chronological analysis of divine governance from the creation of the world up to the second half of the 17th century. It is structured around the cycles of significant astronomical events, specifically the conjunctions and oppositions of Saturn and Jupiter, which recur approximately every 800 years. Peter Megerlin (1623–1686) was a German scholar and professor at the University of Basel. He was a theologian and mathematician and his work often reflected an interest in the intersection of these fields, of which this present work if a fine example. Megerlin famously tought Jacob Bernoulli, who later opposed his astrological interpretations of comet appearances. The work is of the utmost scarcity and we have only been able to trace one previous copy in the trade.

Kiøbenhavn, Godiche,1763-81. 4to. Indbundet i 7 ensartede, lidt senere, hldrbd. i flammet kalv. Rygforgyldning og forgyldte skindtitler på rygge. Stempel på titelblade. Spredte brunpletter og spredte svage skjolder især i de første bind. Letter brugsspor. Med samtlige 295 kobberstukne plancher, prospekter, kort etc. Nogle af kortene er opklæbet, enkelte repareret for rifter. En del plancher med bruning i marginer og foldninger. Originaltrykket af Danmarks topografiske hovedværk, her på trykpapir og med det ofte manglende bind 7 som omhandler Slesvig.

Basel, Io. Bebelium, 1534. Folio. Later full vellum. (18th cent.). Some minor cracks to hinge. A few brownspots to title-page and last leaf. Titlelabel with gilt lettering. Fol. (16),189, (1, verso with printers woodcut device) . First leaf of text w. a broad woodcut frame, made after Holbein. Many woodcut initials. Small stamp on titlepage and in one margin. A large exceptional clean copy The rare Basel-edition of Saxo. It is the second Saxo-edition, but it is rarer than the first. Ther present work constitute the first full history of Denmark for posterity and to this day the most important of all Danish historical publications. This magnificent work contains the first known written narrative of the legend of Hamlet and served as the basis for Shakespeare's play. Adams S,631. - Lauritz Nielsen, 241.

Paris, Crochard, 1825. 8vo. 2 contemporary half calfs w. richly gilt spines. Light wear at top of spines. Minor scratches to upper compartments of spines. Small stamps on verso of title-pages and verso of plates. In: "Annales de Chimie et de Physique, Par MM. Gay-Lussac et Arago.", tome 29 a. 30. - 448 pp. and 3 folded engraved plates + 448 pp. and 2 folded engraved plates. (The entire volumes offered). Ampère's papers: pp. 381-404 (tome 29) + Suite pp. 29-41 (tome 30) + "Lettre à Gerhardi": pp. 373-381 (tome 29). Clean and fine throughout. First appearance of this famous memoir, in which Ampère presented his collected results on electrodynamics to the French Academy, creating the foundation of 19th century developments in electricity and magnetism. In the words of James Clark Maxwell, "We can scarcely believe that Ampère really discovered the law of action by means of the experiments which he describes. We are led to suspect, what, indeed, he tells us himself, that he discovered the law by some process which he has not shown us, and that when he had afterwards built up a pefect demonstration he removed all traces of the scaffolding by which he raised it."The offered memoir was published BEFORE the famous "Theorie mathématique des phénomènes électro-dynamiques uniquement déduite de L'expérience", which did not appear until 1827. That 1827-Memoire incorporates, together with a new presentation of Ampère's results from 1820, 1822, 1823, the offered memoir (1825). (Horblit: 100 - Dibner: 62)."From 1814 until 1820 Ampére did not perform the kind of research that would have made it into the annals of the histrory of science, but on September 11, 1820 when he heard Francois Arago speak about Oersted's work, he got fresh inspiration and started the work that made him famous. Arago related how Oersted had found that a steady electric current influences the orientation of a compass needle. After a weak Ampère had determined experimentally that that two straight, parallel, and current-carrying, wires execute a force on each other. The magnitude of the force is inversely proportional to the distance between the wires and proportional to the strenghts of the current..... During the following years he continued his researches, both experimentally and theoretically. he built an instrument for measuring electricity that later was developed into the galvanometer. Finally in 1825 he presented his collected results to the Academy IN ONE OF THE MOST CELEBRATED MEMOIRS IN THE HISTORY OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY (The paper offered)." (Citizen's Compendium, p. 2). - Norman No 47.The volumes contain many other notable papers by: Wöhler, Fresnel, Marcet, Berzelius, Felix Savart, De la Rive, Braconnet, Boussingault, Magnus, Poncelet, Vaugelin, Poisson, Gay-Lussac, Faraday, Laplace etc.

Venice, Vincenzo Valgrisi, 1555. 8vo (209 x 146 mm). In a bit later full calf binding with five raised bands. Spine with gilt lettering and ornamentation. Extremities with wear. Boards with scratches and capitals and hinges with minor loss of leather. Printer's device to title-page. Full page woodcut illustration at beginning of each "Giornata" (included in the pagination). Title-page with light soiling and a few holes to outer lower corner, far from affecting text. Pp. 277-296 with a rather heavy dampstain. Pp. 411-416 with a few words crossed out in text with offsetting from ink. P. 289 with small hole in outer lower corner, slightly affecting text, otherwise internally fine. [Blank], (10), 487, (82), [2 Blanks] pp. Second Valgrisi-edition of Ruscelli's famous translation of Boccaccio’s The Decameron – here in the rare variant with 1555 printed on the title-page but 1554 on the separate title-page for the supplemented ‘Vocabolario generale di tutte le voci usate dal Boccaccio’. The first Valgrisi-edition was printed in 1552 and was reissued in 1554,1555 and 1557. It is widely considered one of the finest 16th century editions of Boccaccio’s work. It was intended to compete with the popular Giolito-editions, hence the stunning full-page illustrations preceding each of the ten days and the fine architectural borders. Girolamo Ruscelli, Italian Mathematician and Cartographer active in Venice during the early 16th century and especially famous for his present translation of The Decameron, had his books printed by Valgrisi. Lodovico Dolce had his translations printed by Giolito and was a fierce competitor to Ruscelli. The controversy between Ruscelli and Dolce arose from a wish on both parts to be considered the better translator of the classics and the best commentator. Their controversy was also reflected in the fact that the two scholars published their works with two rival Venetian printers:“Ruscelli even ends his address to the reader with a disparaging reference to the Giolito editions. In illustration as in text, this edition had to compete with those of Giolito. Valgrisi’s artist took the theme of the Giolito illustrations – the ten scenes of the company at a villa – and almost doubled the height of the blocks to include more architectural details and views” (Mortimer 73) Brunet I, 1001 ("Il y a des exemplaires de l’édition de 1554, dont le frontispiece porte 1555"). Adams B-2154 Mortimer 73 (The first 1552-edition).Grässe, vol. I, 450. (The first 1552-edition).

(Colophon: Basel, apud Andream Cratandrum, 1534). Folio. Nice hcalf from ab. 1750, richly gilt back, gilt title-label. Corners a bit bumped. Slightly rubbed. Woodcut printer's device to title and last leaf. (28),264,(2) pp. With many smaller and larger woodcut initials. Small stamp at lower corner of the first 2 leaves. Some, rather faint, dampstainings to first and last leaves, otherwise clean and with broad margins. Engraved book-plate inside front board (Bibliotheque du comte Le Moyne de Martigny). Very scarce edition of Theophrastus' two main works. It is one of the earliest Latin editions of Gaza's esteemed translation, in reality it is the third printing of the first Latin edition (first issued 1483, then 1529 in 8vo, and now 1534) of the works which together constitute the foundation of scientific botany. By Linnaeus Theophrastus is called "the father of Botany". This edition comprises both botanical works, The History of Plants and The Causes of Plants, which have survived in their entirety and are the earliest books of this kind in world literature."It is very strange that so much botanic knowledge should have been accumulated by the end of the fourth century and that so little, if anything, was added to it in ancient times. Theophrastos is not only the first botanic writer but also the greatest until Renaissance of the sixteenth century in Germany....The botany of Theophrastos and the zoölogy of Aristotle represents the climax of natural history in antiquity." (Sarton in A History...Vol. I p. 558). "No study of plants of such breadth and quality had previously been conceived: botany now first appears as a distinct science with a comprehensive yet clearly defined field of enquiry." (A.G. Morton). - Stillwell No. 702 (Note) - Hunt No. 26 (listing the 1529-edition in 8vo) - Pritzel: 9189. - Not in Choulant, Handbuch der Bücherkunde für die Ältere Medicin.

Berlin, Verdrucht auf Rosten des Forfatters, 1798. 4to. Bound in 2 contemporary half calf. Spine with gilt leather title-label. Wear to extrimities, especially to spine: Loss of top 2 cm of spine and upper half of back hinges loose on volume 2. With library stamps to title page. Internally with occasional brownspotting, all the plates are, however, very nice and clean. (6), 296 pp + 24 hand coloured engraved plates; (1), VIII, 325, (4) + 23 hand coloured engraved plates. Second printing of German architect David Gilly's seminal and famous work on country and rural architecture. The present work is one of the most successful examples of architecture integrating urban and regional planning and architecture and is probably the most important contribution to the development of Prussian Classicism. Gilly had extensive technical knowledge particularly of wooden roof structures. "One of the trendsetters within the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century electorate was David Gilly (1748-1808), a second generation Huguenot whose family had come from Provence. He established the theory and practice of rual architecture in Brandenburg-Prussia; functionality and utility were paradigms by which he desgined buildings. Through his son (1772-1800), Gilly influenced the famous romantic-classicist Klarl Friedrich Schinkel and his school." (Finney, Seeing Seeing beyond the word: visual arts and the Calvinist tradition, p. 272). David Gilly built the two castles Paretz (1796) and Freienwalde (1798) for the king of Prussia.

Paris, P. Dufart, 1828. Large8vo. In a very nice full morocco binding (Anker Kyster) with with five raised bands and gilt lettering to spine. Gilt frames to boards and top-edge gilt. Lower left corner of front board with small waterstain. With light occassional brownspotting, an overall nice and clean copy. 49 beautifully handcoloured engraved plates printed in colours and finished by hand by Chardin, Langlois, Lemaire and others after Redouté, with accompanying text. First volume of the third edition, being the “most complete edition”, of arguably the most celebrated and reproduced of all flower books. The work proved to be not only outstanding in terms of its beauty but also for its scientific merits and is widely regarded as being one of the most successful examples of art employed in the service of science Redoute's "stipple engravings printed in color command the admiration of both natural historians and artists. Working directly from the flowers, Redoute arranged his compositions to show all their significant aspects without the sacrifice of aesthetic value." (Ray French). Thory cultivated his own collection of roses, and together with the Malmaison gardens he contributed the majority of the specimens illustrated in his collaborative work with Redoute. "Redoute and Thory knew, described and figured almost all the important roses known in their day. Included were many of the key ancestors of our present-day roses. The plates in Les Roses have artistic value, both for the species and cultivars still surviving and for those that have disappeared" (Gisele de la Roche, quoted in the introduction to the Antwerp facsimile edition of Les Roses, 1974-78). Redoute is widely considered the finest 19th century botanical illustrator, if not throughout history. Dunthorne 233 Great Flower Books p. 71 Hunt Redouteana 19 Nissen BBI 1599 Ray French 89 Stafleu & Cowan 8748

Paris, Guillaumin et Cie, Victor Masson et Fils, 1862. 8vo. In contemporary half calf with gilt title to spine. Very light minor brownspotting to a few pages. Previous owner's name to half title. A fine copy. LXIV (incl. half-title), I-XXIII + (24-) 712. pp. and 1 folded plate (between pp.160 a. 161). Fully complete. The scarce first French edition of Darwin's masterpiece, one of the most important books ever printed. The "Origin" started the greatest of all intellectual revolutions in the history of Mankind.There were some difficulties with the first French edition. Mlle Royer, who Darwin described as 'one of the cleverest and oddest women in Europe' and wished 'had known more of natural history', added her own footnotes. He was not really happy until the third translation by Éduard Barbier appeared in 1876. (Freeman). Freeman No 655 (Freeman does not mention the plate, which is present here).

Amsterdam, Petrus Schenk, 1757-74. Large folio. (55 x 34,5 cm.). A large uncut copy in contemp. marbled boards, spine gone and later backed with buckram, original corners in leather a bit bumped. Stamps on foot of first title-page. Halftitel, title-pages in red/black with engraved vignettes. (2),2 engraved leafs with dedications, 14;(2),8 pp. and 25 + 24 large double-page or triple-page folded engraved plates + 6 additional plates (only sometimes present). With a total of 55 plates. On thick, heavy paper, wide-margined and internally fine and clean. Second edition. "Tileman van der Horst and Jan Schenk produced the Theatrum Machinarium Univesale, one of the most celebrated works on the construction of all those elements so necessary to keeping life dry in Amsterdam (the place of the book’s publication). It was perhaps the most important work then produced on dikes, sluices, dams, weirs, canals and swing-bridges, the very elements of existence in Holland. Jan Schenck was the engraver of this work, which may also be the most accurate and the most sumptuously illustrated book of its type in Holland in the 18th century - the technical aspects of the rendering was just superb." - Brunet V,1082 - Graesse VII, 258.

Kbhvn., C.G. Glasings Efterleverske, 1756. 4to. (30x23 cm.). Pragtfuldt, yderst velbevaret samtidigt hellæderbind i flammet kalv. Ryg opdelt i 7 felter af 6 ophøjede bind. Felterne rigt forgyldt med blomsterværk. På begge permer en bred forgyldt ramme sammenstukket af stempler med elefanter, vildmænd, løver enhjørninger og adskilt af store rokokkostempler, en udsmykning karakteristisk for Jørgen Piper. Piper døde 1756, således er værket her et af hans sidste arbejder. På indersiden af forpermen et exlibris i guld af tre sammensnørede neg. Fribladet er forsynet med Oscar Davidsens opklæbede exlibris. Pragteksemplar af originaludgaven af dette hovedværk om Bornholms og Christiansøes historie og topografi.Eksemplaret er optaget i auktionskataloget over Oscar Davidsen's Specialsamling og forsynet med denne note: "Eksemplaret er meget stort og snehvidt. Indbd. i samtidigt brunt, marmoreret og glittet KalveskindsHelbind med meget smuk Dekoration i guld. Bogen kan ikke være i mere skøn og frisk Stand." (side 53 i auktionskataloget, 1940).

Paris, 1841. Folio. Bound in 2 modest cont. hcloth. Tear in lower part of back on volume II. Backs somewhat rubbed. (8),72,22-(6),116,8,32 pp. and 146 engraved plates (ca 40 x 22) cm). Stamp on titles. Vol. I occasionally slightly brownspotted. Scarce first edition (volume 1 in second issue), of this magnificent and highly important work on construction with iron, thoroughly explaining for one of the first times how to generally apply, use and cast iron for the construction of buildings and how to use ceramic pots and wrought-iron together in civil, military, and industrial buildings as well as bridges, rail-roads, etc. Already in the late 18th century, the great improvements in the manufacture of wrought-iron, following upon the introduction and development of the puddling furnace and the rolling mill, had led to the increased use of it in construction, and especially in France the use of hollow ceramic pots in combination with a wrought-iron framework had proved itself very effective in protection against fire in particular. It was not until a few decades later, though, that the manufacturing techniques of iron had become sufficiently effective for it to be widely used in various large-scale construction, and even during the first decades of the 19th century, almost only the French exploited this new technique. Eck's major work from 1841 plays a significant role in the spreading of the iron-construction techniques and provides us with important information on the earliest use of iron-construction. After Eck's seminal work, British architects really began understanding the benefits of this sort of construction, and within a few more decades it spread widely beyond the borders of France. In 1854 G.r. Burnel writes in "The Civil Engineer and Architect's Journal" (William Laxton edt.): "I would call your attention, and that of the members of the Institute, to a work I mentioned on the last evening; it is M. Eck's Traité de la Construction, Poteries, Fer, Fonte et Tôle, in two vols. fol. Paris, 1841; in which will be found many very remarkable illustrations of the application of those various materials to purposes which rarely are thought of in England. It is an extremely valuable work, and if it had been better known here, probably much money might have been saved preventing parties from taking out patents for systems already largely employed; and at any rate, the study of M. Eck's book would have suggested many valuable hints to both architects and engineers."

London, Bacon & Co. Ltd., 1899. Chromlithographed folded map (50 x 71 cm) in original printed covers (20 x 14 cm). 5 cm tear in horisontal fold in left margin. 10 cm long tear in spine of cover, but map and wrappers still firmly attached, otherwise a fine copy. A fine copy of Frederick Rose’s famous caricature map of Europe with each country depicted as an angler having various levels of success in catches colonies. Serving as an allegory for European colonial interference elsewhere, this type of map influenced and reflected popular opinion, much like a political cartoon. Political boundaries and power struggles define this work. The 19th-century “serio-comic map” caricaturizes each European country as a fisherman, holding a sack with its imperial catch, or about to lose what it has caught. Serving as an allegory for European colonial interference elsewhere, this type of “persuasive” map influenced and reflected popular opinion, much like a political cartoon. Despite the popularity of his posters and a considerable output, there has been some controversy regarding Frederick Rose’s exact identity, in part due to his common name. Recent research suggest that Rose was of honorable Scottish descent and spent most of his professional life working as a civil-servant at Somerset House in London (Inland Revenue at the time).

A Rouen, Iacques Cailloüe, 1627. 4to. Cont. full vellum. Spine w. a gilt green title-label. Title-page lightly browned and with a small rubberstamp. A few marginal dampstains. One leaf repaired in a corner. A fine, well preserved copy (4), (456), (4) pp. Having 84 large woodcut-illustrations in the text (each ab. 1/3 page large), showing apparatus and equipment for chemistry, mining, fireworks, metallurgy etc. Fourth French edition of this much-quoted work, mainly dealing with metallurgy (as the title in 16th-century Italian meant metallurgy) and all sorts of combustible materials, including fireworks e.g.: chapter IX, The Manner of compounding various incendiary compositions which are commonly called fireworks, chapter X, Methods of preparing fireworks called Girondoles, which were once customarily used in some Tuscan cities for magnificent displays for public Festivities on Solomon Feast Days. "Biringuccio's reputation derives from a single work, his Pirotechnica, published in 1540...As the first comprehensive account of the fire-using arts to be printed, the Pirotechnica is a prime source of many practical aspects of inorganic chemistry. Biringuccio emphasizes the adaptation of minerals and metals to use - their alloying, working, and especially the art of casting, of which he writes in great detail. The Pirotechnia contains eighty three woodcuts, the most useful being those depicting furnaces for distillation, bellows, mechanisms, and devices for boring cannon and drawing wire." (DBS II:142). - Chris Philip. A Bibliography of Firework Books. B 110.

Leipzig, Grosse & Gleditsch, 1691. 4to. Contemp. full vellum. Faint handwritten title on spine. a small stamp on titlepage. In: "Acta Eruditorum Anno MDCLXXXXI". (8),590,(6) pp. and 13 (of 15) folded engraved plates. The 2 first plates lacks, but they do not belong to the papers listed.Leibniz' papers: pp.277-281 a. 1 plate, pp. 435-439. Johann Bernoulli: pp. 274-276 a. 1 plate. Huygens: pp. 281-282. - Jacob Bernoulli: pp. 282-290 a. 1 plate. All papers first apperance. All 5 of extreme importence in the development of the Calculus. Leibniz' 2 papers on the catenary curve (paper 1-2 offered here) was written at the instigation of Jacques Bernoulli. Following the example of Blaise Pascal, who had initiated, in 1658, a contest for the construction of the cycloid, Leibniz also provoked the geometers of his time, by challenging them to submit, at the fixed date of mid-1691, their geometric method for the construction of the catenary curve. Leibniz later provided the answer, followed by Johann Bernoulli and Huygens.'These two papers are a historical account of the origin of the study of this transcendental curve, and, at the same time, the first physical-geometric construction showing the species-relationship between the catenary and the logarithmic curves, as two companion curves; one arithmetic, the other geometric. All of the differentials of the catenary curve, are arithmetic means of corresponding differentials of the logarithmic curve; and, all of the differentials of the logarithmic curve, are geometric means of the catenary.'"The Catenary is the form of a hanging fully flexible rope or chain (the name comes from "catena", which means 'chain'), suspended on two points. The interest in this curve originated with Galileo, who thought that is was a parabola. Young Christiaan Huygens proved in 1646 that this cannot be the case. What the actual form was remained an open question till 1691, when Leibniz, Johann Bernoulli and the then much older Huygens sent solutions to the problem to the "Acta" (Jakob Bernoulli, 1690, Johann Bernoulli 1691, Huygens 1691 and Leibniz 1691), - these 4 1691-papers offered here - in which the previous year Jakob Bernoulli had challenged mathematicians to solve it. As published, the solutions did not reveal the methods, but through later publications of manuscripts these methods have been known. Huygens applied with great ( paper 4) virtuosity the by then classical methods of 17th century infinitesimal mathematics, and he needed all his ingenuity to reach a satisfactory solution. Leibniz ( the papers 1-2) and Bernoulli (paper 3), applying the new Calculus, found the solutions in a much direct way. In fact, the catenary was a test-case between the old and the new style in the study of curves, and only because the champion of the old style was a giant like Huygens, the test-case can formally be considered as ending in a draw." (Grattan-Guiness in "From the Calculus to Set Theory, 1630-1910.").The paper by JACOB BERNOULLI ( no. 5 offered here) is a milestone papers as it marks the invention of the "SYSTEM OF POLAR COORDINATES" with points located by reference to a fixed point and a line through that point. Although newton had earlier also devised such a coordinate system (in 1671), his work was not known, so that the credit for the discovery generally goes to Bernoulli. (Parkinson, Breakthroughs (1691).Further papers contained in this volume of Acta Eruditorum:DENYS PAPIN: Mecanicorum de Viribus Motricibus sententia, asserta a D. Papino adversius C.G.G. L. (Leibniz) objectiones. pp. 6-13. The plate lacks. - and Dion. Papini Observationes quaedam circa materias ad Hydraulicam spectantes. Pp. 208-213 a. 1 plate. This importent paper is part of the LEIBNIZ-PAPIN-CONTROVERSY.JACOB BERNOULLI: Specimen Calculi Differentialis in dimensione Parabolæ helicoidis, ubi de flexuris curvarum in genere, carundem evolutionibus. Pp. 13-22. The plate lacks. - and J.B. Demonstratio Centri Oscillationis ex Natura Vectis, reperta occassione eorum, quæ super hac materia in Historia Literaria Roterodamensi recensentur, articulo...Pp.317-321.LEIBNIZ: O.V.E. Additio ad Schediasma de Medii Resistentia publicatum in Actis mensis Febr. 1889. Pp. 177-178. and O.V.E. Quadratura Arithmetica Communis Sectionum Conicarum quæ centrum babent,...Pp. 178-182 a. 1 plate.TSCHIRNHAUS: Singularia Effecta Vitri Caustici bipedalis, quod omnia magno sumtu hactenus constructa specula ustoria virtute superat, per D.T. Pp. 517-520

Paris, Librairie de Challamel Ainé, 1861-1897. 8vo. 128 volumes, all except 7 volumes bound in uniform contemporary half calf with gilt lettering. Remaining 7 volumes in half cloth. Two volumes with detached spine. All volumes with gilt stamp to front board and a few volumes with paper label pasted on to pasted down front end-paper. Spines with a bit of wear, internally very fine and clean. With numerous folded maps and charts. A fine set, all volumes first editions, of this important travel- and exploration journal, being the official French journal on maritime and colonial exploration in the last half of the 19th century containing numerous papers, maps and charts of hitherto unexplored territory.

London, Robert Young, 1628. 12mo. Bound in a worn contemporary full calf binding. Gilt lines to spine and boards. Spine and boards rubbed and cracked, and corners bumped, but binding tight and sturdy. Notes to front free endpaper in a near-contemporary hand. Engraved title-page, nearly detached and torn through the center (reinforced from verso). Evenly browned, otherwise clean internally. (25), 445,(18) pp. The exceedingly scarce second complete edition of the English poet and colonist George Sandys' celebrated translation of Ovid's 'Metamorphoses' (the first being London, 1626). In 1621 Sandys took up the post of treasurer of the colony of Virginia. By the time he reached Virginia, he had already completed a translation of the first five books (out of 15) of the 'Metamorphoses', which - according to tradition - was published in 1621; but with no surviving copies of this edition, its existence remains a matter of speculation. In 1947, however, a copy of what appears to be the second edition of this 'ghost', also printed in 1621, was found 'in a barrow in front of an obscure bookshop' (McManaway, 1948, 'The First Five Bookes of Ovids Metamorphosis, 1621, "Englished by Master George Sandys"'). During his treasurership, he translated the remaining ten books and published a full translation in 1626 with William Stansby in London, the edition upon which the present is based. With the exception of the first five books, translated before he reached the US, Sandys' translation thus constitutes the earliest significant poetic output written in the New World. With only 11 copies recorded by OCLC, the present edition is by far the most uncommon of the complete editions.