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Köln, Ioannis Gymnici, Antonius Boetzer, 1624 a. 1621-1640. Folio. (40 x 26 cm.). Bound in 8 (thick) uniform contemporary full pigskin bindings over wooden boards. Raised bands and richly blind-tooled boards. Title labels with gilt lettering. Clasps missing. Spines a bit rubbed. Wear to some spine-ends. Some upper compartments with nicks, one volume having a tear in leather at upper compartment. One volume with a small loss of leather to upper compartement. With engraved title-page, engraved portrait of Baronius, engraved portrait of pope Urban VII. More than 10.000 pp. Printed in double-columns. In general internally fine. Baronius's monumental work (with its continuation by Bzovius up to the year 1565) hailed by Roman Catholic writers as the greatest history of the church ever written and Baronius hailed as the "father of ecclestical history" (1-12 dealt with Anno 1-1198 and volume13 -20, Anno 1198-1565)."The Annales were first published between 1588 and 1607. This work functioned as an official response to the Lutheran Historia Ecclesiae Christi (History of the Church of Christ). In that work, the Magdeburg theologians surveyed the history of the Christian church in order to demonstrate how the Catholic Church represented the Antichrist and had deviated from the beliefs and practices of the early church. In turn, the Annales fully supported the claims of the papacy to lead the unique true church."Before Baronius was appointed Librarian of the Vatican in 1597, he had access to material and sources in its archives that were previously unpublished or unused. He used these in the development of his work. Accordingly, the documentation in Annales Ecclesiastici is considered by most as extremely useful and complete. Lord Acton called it "the greatest history of the Church ever written"."Graesse I, 296. - Brunet I, 662-631.

Altona, J.F. Hammerich, 1807. 8vo. Bound in the two orig. blue cardboardbindings. The backs have been professionally restored, preserving the orig. printed paper title-labels and cont. paper library-labels at lower backs. Occasional brownspotting due to the paper-quality, but all in all a very nice and attractive copy. XVI, (4), 368; VIII, 358, (1) pp. Some of the first leaves of the "Erstes Buch" in the first volume have been misbound, but are all present. 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).

(On colophon-leaf:) Haguenau, in aedibus Thomae Badensis, 1521). Small folio. Beautiful full calf binding over wooden boards. Recently rebacked. Beautiful blindstamped ornamental borders to boards and remains of clasps, ties missing. A few smaller wormhols to boards, and two drilled holes of ab. the same size to lower part of front board (for a chain?). Ornamented incunable-leaves with red and blue initials used as pasted-down end-papers. Front free end-paper soiled, with neat 19th century inscription (stating editions of the work), and with a beautiful large, engraved armorial book-plate (Collection of Bryan Hall). First leaf with a larger damp-spot to lower part (not affecting any text). Otherwise a very nice copy with only some minor light marginal soiling, a small dampstain to lower inner corner of last ab. 8 leaves, far from affecting text, and a bit of light spotting to a few leaves towards the end. Beautiful large woodcut printer's device to last leaf. (1) f., 776 columns (i.e. 388 pp/ 194 ff.), (1 - colophon) f. The rare 3rd edition of Hesychios' extremely important Greek dictionary, one of the most important works of philology and linguistics ever printed, this edition constituting the first Greek work to be printed in the famous Renaissance printing-city of Hagenau/Haguenau (in Alsace).The first edition of the work was printed by Aldus in Venice in 1514, and in 1520 a re-impression appeared. The present third edition, edited by Marcus Musurus and printed after the edition of 1514 of Aldus Manutius, constitutes the second re-impression of the work, but it is the first to be printed in Hagenau and the first by the notable printer Thomas Anshelm, who had settled in Haguenau in 1516, being the first to seriously rival Henry Gran here. Anshelm is regarded as one of the most important printers of what we now call the Humanist period of the Renaissance. All three editions are rare and important.Hesychios of Alexandria was a highly important grammarian and lexicographer, whose only surviving work is the present lexicon of unusual and obscure Greek words, the richest of its kind ever. It is assumed that the work was executed by Hesychios during the 5th century. The work is extraordinary in that it constitutes a huge and unique listing of peculiar Greek words and phrases, with explanations and often references to the originator or place of origin. As such, the work is of the greatest value to the both the student of Greek dialects as well as for the ongoing work of restoring the texts of classical authors, for which the present lexicon it still an indispensible tool. But Hesychios' work is not only of the utmost importance to Greek philology, it is also a main work in the study of lost languages and obscure non-Greek dialects (e.g. Thracian and ancient Macedonian). Furthermore, the work was instrumental in the reconstruction of Proto-Indo-European, one of the most, if not THE most, important philological tasks ever. Only in the late 18th century did Jones determine the connection between the Indo-European languages, thereby founding comparative philology. Only a very corrupt manuscript, from the 15th century, of the work survives, and it is this manuscript that Marcus Musurus used as the basis for the first printing of the work by Aldus in 1514. As stated, two re-impressions (with modest corrections) appeared of this Aldus-edition (ours being the second), and since then no complete comparative edition of the manuscript has been published, bestowing on these three scarce early editions a huge importance. A modern edition of the seminal work has, however, been in intermittent publication since 1953. The editor of the last wolume states the following about Hesychios' Lexicon: "Hesychius of Alexandria lived in the fifth century A.D. and compiled a dictionary of unusual or difficult Greek words with explanations in Greek. Approximately 51,000 entries make it the richest surviving Greek lexicon compiled until the invention of printing. It is of great importance to Ancient Greek studies because it contains countless words and expressions from poetry, administration, medicine, and so on, that are otherwise unknown or insufficiently explained. In particular, numerous words from the Greek dialects are important, not only for Greek but also for Indo-European philology.The Lexicon suffered substantial alterations, including abridgements and additions on its way from the author to the only surviving manuscript (fifteenth century). The production of an edition that gives all important information about the manuscript and the work of earlier scholars, as well as meeting modern requirements for the noting of parallels in other lexicographical works, is a slow and difficult task. Marcus Musurus published the first edition in 1514 (reprinted in 1520 and 1521 with modest revisions). There have since been many plans for an edition, but only four were started. Of the four editors, only one, M. Schmidt, lived long enough to finish the work himself. His edition (1858-68) is now completely out of date.A new edition was one of the most urgent requirements in Greek studies already when the German scholar KURT LATTE began preliminary work in the 1920s for the Danish Academy's Commission for Corpus Lexicographorum Graecorum. The project was severely hampered by the events of 1933-45. Volumes 1-2 were published in 1953 and (posthumously) 1966." (Peter Allan Hansen, Editor of the final part of the great ongoing project of the new printing of the Hesychius-Lexicon)"Hesychius , (flourished 5th century ad), author of the most important Greek lexicon known from antiquity, valued as a basic authority for the dialects and vocabularies of ancient inscriptions, poetic text, and the Greek Church Fathers." (British Encycl.).Though not of particular fame or importance today, the small city of Haguenau played a dominating role in the late 15th and the first half of the 16th century, then being one of the most important centres of printing. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries a remarkably large number of books were issued from presses in this small town, located close to Strasbourg. Thomas Anshelm (fl. 1488-1522) is considered perhaps the most eminent of the early Hagenau printers. He established himself as a printer in Basle in 1485 but subsequently worked as a printer in Strasbourg (1488), Pforzheim (1500-1511), Tübingen (1511-1516), and finally Hagenau (1516-1522), having by then developed his printing technique to perfection.Graesse III:266

Paris, chez Gabriel Martin, 1735. 4to (262 x 210 mm). Uniformly bound in seven nice contemporary full calf bindings with five raised bands and richly gilt spines. Light wear to extremities. Vol. 4 with lower compartment of spine missing part of the leather. Internally with light occassional marginal miscolouring. Vol. 5 with damp stain affecting lower outer corner of first 14 leaves. An overall fine complete set with all half titles and 433 plates (1-429, plus 105*, 177*, 329* and 2 additional plates numbered 341, but 197-8 on one sheet). Vol 1: VIII, (4), 215 pp + 67 folded plates. Vol 2: (4), V, (3), 192 pp + 73 folded plates (numbered 68 to 139)Vol 3: (4), V, (3), 205 pp. + 75 folded plates (numbered 140 to 214)Vol 4: (4), V, (3), 239 pp. + 81 folded plates (numbered 215 to 295). Vol 5: (4), V, (3), 173 pp. + 66 folded plates (numbered 296 to 360). Vol 6: (4), V, (3), 196, (35) pp. + 69 folded plates (numbered 361 to 429) First edition of this important and extensive work containing both descriptions and engravings of all the inventions approved from the beginning of the French “l'Academie Royale des Sciences” in 1666. “Thus, it documents the increasing interest in technology during this period in France. The devices are simply described in chronolopgical order. They cover all the areas then known in arts, sciences, engineering and manufacturing” (Erwin Tomash). It constitute one of the most important historical sources for the study of the manufactures of the late 17th and early 18th century. The inventors included Godin and Outhier - who were involved in the expedition to measure the arc of the meridian with their instruments -, Dortous de Mairan, Cassini, Clairaut le père, l'abbé Nollet, Huygens, Perrault, Gauger, Le Maire, De La Hire, Morland,and in particular the arithmetic machines of Pascal (vol.4, plates 262-263), Lépine (vol.4, plates 259-261), and Hillerin de Boistissandeau (vol.5, plates 341-343). Gallon (1706-75), a French engineer, was commissioned by the Academy to edit the descriptions made of the machinery that they approved. The Academy added another volume forty-two years later (1777), after Gallon's death. Brunet I, 27 Graesse Vol. 1, p. 10. Tomash & Williams G22

Heidelberg, 1817. 8vo. COMPLETELY UNCUT in contemporary (original interim?) marbled paper-binding with handwritten paper title-label to spine. Boards rubbed and corners a bit worn. Internally unusually clean. Last ten leaves with a small marginal worm-tract, not affecting lettering. Extensive contemporary hand-written scholarly notes (seemingly in three different hands) to all end-papers, in all 6 closely-written pages, in French and German. Contemporary owner's name to title-page (Th. Daulli [?]). A fabulous copy, with very varying sizes of pages. XVI, 288 pp. The rare first edition, extremely scarce in original uncut condition, of Hegel's immensely important work, the "Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences", by himself and his contemporaries considered his main work, and likewise an absolute main work of philosophy in general. Hegel is considered one of the four greatest philosophers of all times, and his contributions to philosophy are incomparable to other than perhaps those of Aristotle, Plato and Kant. In 1816 Hegel chose the professorship of philosophy at the University of Heidelberg, and here he taught his courses with great enthusiasm. He lectured no less than 16 hours a week, mostly over his own system, which is the object of this (chronologically speaking) third main work, generally just called the "Encyclopaedia".Hegel himself considered his "Encyclopedia" to be the most important of his works, and his contemporaries likewise judged it his actual main work. Hegel was considered the epitome of the great systematic thinker of the 19th century, and his "Encyclopaedia" forms the epitome of his work, at the same time as it, to his own mind, constitutes his greatest achievement. Hegel's main aim was to systematically comprise all spiritual and natural knowledge, and thus his philosophy peaks with his all-comprising Encyclopaedia, which remained of the greatest importance to himself throughout his life-time. He kept working on the book, and no less than three different altered editions appeared within his lifetime, the last in 1830, the year before he died, confirming his lasting devotion to this work.

Kiøbenhavn, Godiche, 1763 - 81. 4to. Indbundet i 8 (tome V i 2) samtidige helldrbd. Rig rygforgyldning og forgyldte skindtitler. Rygge på de 4 første bind med lette brugsspor. Marmorerede snit. Stempel på titelblade. Slesvigbindet på skrivepapir. Med 295 kobberstukne prospekter, planer, grundtegninger, foldekort m.v. Nogle af foldekortene fint forstærkede på bagsiden. rent eksemplar, kun enkelte spredte brunpletter. Nogle eksemplarer er forsynet med Pontoppidans Danmarkskort. Dette er ikke her og det er heller ikke nævnt i oversigterne. Originaludgaven af Danmarks topografiske hovedværk.

London, William Clowes and Sons, 1876. Small 8vo. Original full red cloth. Title and author stamped in gold on upper wrapper. A small paperlabel at top of spine. A small stamp on top of title-page. Faint discoloration to lower part of upper wrapper. Frontispiece. 59 pp., textillustrations. Faint scattered brownspots, mainly to the first leaves. With dedication from the author on front free endpaper "H.P./ General Baron von Bülow/ with the authors compliments." Bülow is probably the Danish Genreral-Major Otto Chr. Severin August von Bülow (1812-95) or it could be General-Lieutnant Carl Ernst Johan Bülow (1814-1890) who was a member of the Danish legation to the English Court from 1865 to 1880. A note on the front free endpaper states, that the book in 1885 was handed over to the School of Gymnastics by General Fog. On foot of the same leaf some discoloration left over from a paperlabel. First edition. - Extremely scarce. Penzer p.93: 'very rare'.

Milano, P. Hugues, 1822. Folio. 48x32,5 cm. Bound in one cont. hcalf, richly gilt back and title-label with gilt lettering. (Title-label a little torn). Lightly rubbed along edges and spine ends, but good. Engraved ornamental title-page (printed in brown). 6 engraved leaves with text and 4 plates with descendt-line, skeletons etc., 17 printed leaves of text, 25 engraved leaves with text (Indices and text). And in all 89 fine stipple-engraved plates (4 separately numb. + I-LXX + I-XV). Plates with engraved frame and at bottom engraved text in Italian.A large uncut copy with broad margins. Scattered marginal brownspots, a few tears to margins, images clean and bright. Scarce title-issue of this important, and perhaps the largest, monograph on primates, apes and monkeys from the 19th century by the French painter Nicholas Henri Jacob. The original issue was published in 2 parts 1812-14. This title-issue has a reset title-page, a new dedication and the text beneath the image is in Italian. The illustrations in these splendid stipple-engravings are the same.The plates depict apes, monkeys and lemurs from the Old World and The New World in 5 Classes: 1. Genere; Orang; Pithecus. 2. Genere. Babbuino. 3. genere. Guenone; Cercopithecus. 4. Genere. Sapajù; Cebus. 5. genere. Sapajù-Sagoino; Callithrix.- Part II: Famiglia. I Maki; Lemures.Wood p. 402. - BMC (NH) II:916 (but with the year 1823 "This is the same as the original from 1812, except in the setting of the title-page, of the dedication, and of the translations of the introduction." - Nissen. 2080.

Rome, ( Viottis parmensem vin aedibus S. Birgittae), 1554. Folio. Bound in 17th century full calf, later rebacked preserving old titlelabel with gilt lettering. Corners a bit bumped. Woodcut on title-page. 2 full-page woodcuts (printer devise Olaus Magnus-Viottii)(58),787,(1 - Errata),(2 - Colophon) pp. and 238 woodcuts in the text and one full-page woodcut map (a smaller copy of Olaus Magnus Carta marina, published 1555). A few minor marginal brownspots at end. printed on good paper. Internally clean and fine. First edition, first issue. "This famous history was written in Venice in 1540, where the author was then living as a catholic refugee - he had left Sweden in 1526. In it, the Gothic romantic conception of Sweden as the "vagina gentium", the idea of Jordanes, 6th century chronicler of the Goths, is developed in a history of Swedish kings both at home and abroad leading the migrating peoples. The conception had alredy been adopted by mediaeval Swedish historians and was the leading ideology of Swedish patriotism in the 17th century when the text was translated into Swedish (1620). The book was posthumously published by the author's brother Olaus Magnus, who dedicated it to Pope Julius III as well as to the Swedish Crown Prince Erik." (Swedish Books 1280-1967, No. 17).Adams, M 136. - Collijn II,210-214.

Aarhus, (Autoris Tryckeri), 1647. Lille 4to på tværs. Velbevaret samtidigt helpergamentsbind. Bindet med lidt brunpletter. (16),240 pp. Alle sider med teksten inden for en røskenramme. Originaltrykket af notorisk sjældenhed, her i et ualmindeligt frisk og velbevaret eksemplar. Kun enkelte komplette eksemplarer bevaret på private hænder. Bogen er et kildeskrift af væsentlig betydning for forståelsen af de økonomiske værdiforhold i omsætningen af værdi - og produktionsgenstande, mål, vægt, afgifter etc. etc. i 1600-tallets Danmark. Skonning havde sit eget trykkeri i Århus, og her er bogen trykt.Thesaurus II,646. - Bibl. Danica II,798.

Nürnberg, Paul Lochner, 1729. Folio. (40,5 x 26,5 cm.). Contemp. full calf. 6 raised bands. Titlelabel with gilt lettering. Gilt borders on covers. Minor scratches to covers. Small crack in leather on the joint at upper and lower compartments. Small stamp on title-page. Engraved frontispiece. Title-page in red and black. (28),66,96,114,136,144,104,(10) pp., 6 engraved vignettes, 1 full-page engraving with coat of arms (on F 4r), 62 engraved plates of which 9 are folded and double-page (E. Nunzer del., A. Nunzer sc.). Internally clean and fine. Enlarged and richly illustrated edition with the fine engravings by Nunzer, providing all the information a nobleman and stud-farm owner could possibly want. First published 1609, now with modified text and new copperplates.Lipperheide Tc 22. - Nissen 2542.

(Colophon: Venice, Venturino Rossenelli, 1543). Folio. (30,5x22 cm.). Contemporary full Italian limp vellum. Remains of ties. Old handwritten title on spine. Upper part of frontcover slightly creased. A few small nicks to hinges at cords. Vellum with brownspots. 242 leaves (2-241 numb. II-CCXXXIX). Misnumbering of leaves in sign. A (10 lvs.), due to the insertion of corrections on f A5. (Collation corresponds to that given by Thomas-Stanford No. 34). Large margins profusely illustrated with diagrams. Upper right corner of title gone with loss of of 3 letters "NSE" in MEGARENSE, f A2-A6 with upper right corners and a wormtract-hole in lower margin repaired. A wormtract in lower margin on the next 11 lvs. A1-A6 mounted skillfully on thin opaque parchment-paper. A rather faint dampstain in upper right corner throughout. Last 5 leaves with a small nick in right margin, no loss. Otherwise remarkable clean and printed on good strong paper. On the title a large woodcut device with arms with G.T. (Gabriele Tadino, to whom the work is dedicated). Colophon with large woodcut device with the letters .P.Z.F. and this repeated on verso of last leaf. Scarce first edition of the first translation of Euclid in any modern language by the famous Niccolo Tartaglia. The translation and Tartaglia's commentaries, strongly accelerated the development of physics and mechanics in the 16th century, as it showed how mathematics could be applied to dynamics and mechanics as well as to architecture, construction and perspective. More than 20 years should elapse before the next language should receive the privilege of displaying Euclid among their goods, this was the French translation published by Pierre Forcadel, Paris 1564. "When Tartaglia submits that his redaction was made "secondo le due tradittioni", there is no question that Campanus - who appears to be heavely favored - and Zamberti are meant. When Campanus has added propositions or premises, Tartaglia has approriately translated them and noted their absence "nelle seconda tradittione", while things omitted by Campanus but included by Zamberti receive the reverse treatment" (John Murdoch in DSB).Niccolo Fontana Tartaglia of Brescia has a great name in the history of mathematics. A cut in the face from a French soldier caused him to stammer and as a consequence of this he was called 'Tartaglia' (the stammerer). He is famous for his solution of third-degree equations which occasioned a long polemic with Cardano about priority. He is also known for "Tartaglia's Triangle", later known as "Pascal's Triangle", and he is well-known for his Archimedes-edition of 1543 and 1551 with his commentaries."The most famous source of Greek geometry is the monumental work of Euclid of Alexandria, called the "Elements" (around 300 B.C.). No other book of science had a comparable influence on the intellectual development of mankind. It was a treatise of geometry in thirteen books which included all the fundamental results of scientific geometry up to his time. Euclid did not claim for himself any particular discovery, he was merely a compiler. Yet, in view of the systematic arrangement of the subject matter and the exact logical procedure followed, we cannot doubt that he himself provided a large body of specific formulations and specific auxiliary theorems in his deductions. It is no longer possible to pass judgement on the authorship of much of this material; his book was meant as a textbook of geometry which paid attention to the material, while questions of priority did not enter the discussion." (Cornelius Lanzos in "Space through the Ages").Max Steck III:40 - Thomas-Stanford: 34 - Riccardi Euclideana 1543, 1 - Adams E:992. - Brunet II:1090. (Premiere edition de ce travail estimé). - Graesse II:513.

Stockholm, Grefing, 1757. Small 8vo. In the original blank wrappers. Dampstain to upper part of spine and upper part of back wrapper, affecting last blank leaf. Old owner's name to title-page. First blank leaf with comments in recent hand in pencil. From the library of Swedish crime author Henning Mankell. Text printed in two columns. Title-page with lovely engraved vignette, depicting a putti with a spyglass (symbolising the Enlightenment) and lovely woodcut vignettes. Untouched and unrestored in completely original condition. A magnificent copy. (16), 256 pp. Exceedingly scarce first edition of the first Scandinavian translation of Machiavelli's "Il Principe", namely the first Swedish translation. Through its Scandinavian translation, the work came to have an immense impact on Scandinavian politics and philosophy and was considered a breakthrough work of political thought, albeit highly controversial and not at all acceptable at the time. Even though antedating some other European versions by more than two centuries, the first translation into a Nordic language came to signify substantial changes in the political climate of the Nordic countries and sparked a debate that was to last another century, until Machavelli was finally accepted in the North. ""The Prince" was not to be translated in Scandinavia until more than two centuries later, partly because in the meantime it could be read in Latin - in the versions of Tegli, Conring and Langenhert - and later in French, but also because at that time a work which established, among other things, the superiority of the Reason of State to moral values was unacceptable, at least formally. The first translation of "The Prince" into a Nordic language is by Carl von Klingenberg, together with the translation of "The Anti-Machiavel" by Frederick II of Prussia ("Machiavels Prins, med Undersökningen deraf. Öfversatt ifrån Hufvudspråken", Grefing 1757).Klingenberg's work, however, remained an isolated fact for more than a century. Actually "The Prince" as a separate work, was translated only in 1867 by Rudolf August Helfrid Afzelius…; by that time the debate over Machiavelli had been settled, and the value of "The Prince" finally Acknowledged... The first Danish translation of the whole work dates back to only 1876...Therefore the first Scandinavian translation of "The Prince" was completed in Sweden around the middle of the eighteenth century, during the "frihetstid" (The "Age of Liberty", 1721-72), a period full of political, social and cultural turmoil: These are the years of the making of a political conscience and of the spread of new political theories, of the development of rhetoric, of the foundation of reviews and literary associations, as well as of scientific and cultural academies; these years marked a new openness to foreign cultures and the diffusion of Enlightenment ideas. The "Age of Liberty" is also a period full of political and cultural conflicts and uncertainty." (Roberto de Pol, pp. 248-250). "The Prince" constitutes the beginning of modern political philosophy and one of the most influential works in the history of modern thought. It founded the science of modern politics on the study of mankind, and even today no political thinker can disregard the importance of this masterpiece of political theory. For more information about the first Scandinavian translation and about the translator, see: Roberto de Pol: The First Translations of Machiavelli's "Prince", pp. (247-278). The work is of the utmost scarcity and we have been able to locate no more than three copies of it world-wide: 1: National Library of Sweden; 2: National Library of Denmark; 3: Brown University (the Machiavelli Collection). This makes it one if the very scarcest Machiavelli-translations in the world.

Paris, Crochard, 1816-25. Bound in 2 fine recent hmorocco. In: "Annales de Chimie et de Physique, Redigées par MM. Gay-Lussac et Arago", Tome I, IV, IX, X, XI, XV, XVII, XX, XXI, XXIII, XXVIII and XXIX. Some memoirs with scattered brownspots. All but volume 15 with the orig. titlepages to the volumes. Vol. XV having instead of the titlepage, a sample of the orig. printed wrappers, December issue 1820. Bound at end of volume 2. The memoir, no. 25a below is inserted at the end of volume 2. Some of the memoirs having textillustrations. Some versos of titlepages with stamps. First appearances of this groundbreaking series of papers and memoirs in which Fresnel established the scientific basis for the wave theory of light and gave the theoretical framework for explaining, in the context of his theory of the transversal nature of lightwaves, the phenomena of double refraction, refraction, dispersion, polarization, interference, diffraction patterns, diffraction fringes as light spreads around objects, etc. He developed mathematically the hypothesis of the wave nature of light and he demonstrates its conformity with experience. His study of light was a dynamic interplay between theory and observation, between mathematics and experiment. - The offered series also comprises the contributions from Arago and the rapports from The French Academy's committees by Ampère, Biot and Fourier - see below nos. 6,11,14,15,a.nd 18."From the point of view of method, his investigations extended from the manual operations of the laboratory to the most abstract mathematical analyses. Few physicists since Newton had been so versatile."(Silliman in "Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences", vol. 4, p. 155.)."The wave-thory at this time was still encumbered with difficulties. Diffraction was not satisfactorily explained; for polarization no explanation of any kind was forthcoming; the Huygenian construction appeared to require two different luminiferous media within double refracting bodies; and the universality of that construction had been impugned by Brewster's discovery of biaxial crystals. The upholders of the emission theory, emboldened by the success of Laplace's theory of double refraction, thought the time ripe for their final triunph; and as a step to this, in March 1817 they proposed Diffration as the subject of the Academy's prize for 1818. Their expectation was disappointed; and the successful memoir afforded the first of a series of reverses of which, in the short space of seven years, the corpuscular theory was completely owerthrown. The author was Augustin Fresnel..."(Whittaker "A History of the Theories of Aether & Electricity", vol. 1, p.107 ff.)."This concept of transverse waves met with the greatest hostility from the scientists of the day, who could not imagine an extremely fluid and rarified ether which at the same time possessed the mechanical properties of a rigid body. Even Arago admitted that he could not follow the exuberant engineer in his ideas. ButFresnel was convinced that at last he had the key to many mysteries, and with his model of waves he gave a full clarification of the phenomena of polarization. With insuperable precision he explained a long series of extremely complicated experiments, such as those of chromatic polarization that Arago himself had discovered by chance in 1811, and which the followers of Newton could not explain in spite of all their efforts. Following this line Fresnel reached the synthesis which is his masterpiece....we must recall the final interpretation that he gave of the famous phenomenon of partial reflection by transparent surfaces, that simple phenomenon which until then had puzzled Grimaldi, Newton, and Huygens, and which in Malus's experiments had unexpectedly acquired a special importencee as it had been compared to the great mystery of double refraction."(Ronchi "The Nature of Light", p. 255 ff.).Comprising:1. Mémoire sur la Diffraction de la lumière, où l'on examine particululièrement le phénomène des franges colorées que présentent les ombres des corps éclairés par un point lumineux. "Ann.Chim.P." Tome 1. 1816. With titlepage to vol. 1. Pp. 239-281 and 1 folded engraved plate.2. Extrait d'une Lettre de M. Fresnel à M. Arago, sur l'influence de la chaleur dans les couleurs développées par la polarisation.Tome 4. 1817. With titlepage to vol. 4. Pp. 298-300.3. Lettre de M. Fresnel à M. Arago, sur l'influence du mouvement terrestres dans quelques phénomènes terrestres dans quelques phénoménes d'optique. Tome 9. 1818. With titlepage to vol. 18. Pp. 57-70.4. Note additionelle à la Lettre de M. Fresnel à M. Arago, insérée dans le dernier Cahier des Annales. Tome 9. 1818. Pp. 286-287.5. FRESNEL & ARAGO. Sur l'Action que le rayons de lumiére polarisés exercent les uns sur les autres. Tome 10. 1819. With titlepage to vol. 10. Pp. 288-305. - Also with "Extrait d'un ouvrage du P. Grimaldi intitulé: Traité physico-mathérmatique de la lumiere des couleurs et de l'iris". Pp. 306-312.6. ARAGO. Rapport par M. Arago à l'Academie des Sciences, au nom de la Commission qui avait été chargée d'examiner les Mémoires envoyés au concours pour le prix de la diffraction. Tome 11. 1819. With titlepage to vol. 11. Pp. 5-30.7. Mémoire sur la Diffraction de la Lumiere. (Extrait). (This importent Price-Memoir was only printed in full in 1826). Tome 11. 1819. Pp. 246-296.8. Suite Du Mémoire sur la Diffraction de la Lumière. Tome 11. 1819. Pp. 337-378. + Note sur des Essais ayant pour but de décomposer l'eau avec un aimant. Pp. 219-222.9. Note sur des Essais ayant pour but de décomposer l'eau avec un aimant. Tome 15. 1820. Pp. 219-222. No titlepage to vol. 15.10. Résume d'un Mémoire sur la Reflexion de la lumière. Tome 15. 1820. Pp. 379-386. Tome 15 is here represented with the last issue of the year (Decembre 1820, pp. 337-448) and instead of the titlepage having the orig. printed wrappers (bound at end of the second volume).11. ARAGO & AMPÈRE. Rapport fait à l'Academie des Sciences, le lundi 4 juin 1821, sur un Mémoire de M. Fresnel relatif aux couleurs des lames cristallisées douées de la double réfraction. Tome 17. 1821. Titlepage to vol. 17. Pp. 80-102.12. Note sur le Calcul des teintes que la polarisation développe dans les lames cristallisées. Tome 17. 1821. Pp. 102-111.13. IIe Note sur la Coloration des lames cristallisées. Tome 17. 1821. Pp. (167-)196.14. BIOT. Remarques de M. Biot sur un Rapport lu, le 4 juin 1821, à l'Academie des Sciences, par MM. Arago et Ampere. Tome 17. 1821. Pp. 225-258.15. ARAGO. Examen des Remarques de M. Biot. Tome 17. 1821. Pp. 258-273. 16. Addition à la IIe Note insérée dans le Cahier précédent, par M. Fresnel. Tome 17. 1821. Pp. 312-315.17. Note sur les remarques de M. Biot, publiées dans le Cahier précédent. Tome 17. 1821. Pp. 393-403.18. FOURIER, AMPÈRE ET ARAGO. Rapport fait à l'Academie sur un Mémoire de M. Fresnel, relatif à la double réfraction. Commission: Fourier, Ampère et Arago. Tome 20, 1822. With titlepage to vol. 20. Pp. 337-344.19. Note sur la double réfraction du verre comprimé. Tome 20. 1822. Pp. 376-383.20. Explication de la Réfraction dans le système des ondes. Tome 21, 1822. Titlepage to vol. 21. Pp. 225-241. + LAGRANGE. Sur la Théorie de la lumière d'Huygens. Pp. 241-246.21. Sur l'Ascension des nuages dans l'atmosphère. Tome 21, 1822. Pp. 260-263.22. Réponse de M. Fresnel à la Lettre de M. Poisson insérée dans le tome XXII des Annales, p. 270. Tome 23, 1823. Titlepage to vol. 23. Pp. 32-49.23. Note sur le Phénomène des anneaux colorés. Tome 23, 1823. Pp. 129-134.24. Suite de la Réponse de M.A. Fresnel à la Lettre de M. Poisson. Tome 23, 1823. Pp. 113-122.25. Extrait d'un Mémoire sur la double Réfraction particulière que présente le cristal de roche dans la irection de son axe. Tome 28, 1825. Titlepage to vol. 28. Pp. 147-161. + (25 a) Extrait d'un Mémoire sur la double Réfraction. Tome 28, 1825. Pp. 263-279. (According to Buchwald "The Rise of the Wave Theory opf Light" , p. 462, these 2 extracts composes the entire memoire.26. Note sur la Répulsion que des corps échauffés exercent les uns sur les autres à des distances sensibles. (Lue à l'Institut le 13 juin 1825). Tome 29, 1825. Titlepage to vol. 29. Pp. 57-62.27. Extrait d'un Mémoire sur la Loi des modifications imprimées à la lumière polarisée par sa réflexion totale dans l'intérieur des corps transparens. Tome 29, 1825. Pp. 175-187. (This paper was never printed in full).

(Luxembourg), Jacques le Sincere (and later:) Andre Chevalier, 1704 - 1723. 8vo. Bound almost uniformly in 38 contemporary full calf bindings with five raised bands and richly gilt spines. Paper-label pasted on to top of spines and ex-libris pasted on to pasted down front end-papers. Light wear to extremities, boards with scratches, occassionally with loss of leather, and spines with light miscolouring and occassional loss of the gilt ornamentation. Vol. 1-18, 20-30, 32-38 and the 2 supplement volumes (both 1713). The exceedingly rare first edition of Luxembourg’s first newspaper, and periodical in general, which appeared for the first time in July 1704. It was then published monthly, without interruption, until July 1794. The early volumes of the journal are rarely found in trade and we have not been able to trace a single multiple-volume set with the supplement included. Behind the newspaper were initially the librarian, printer and journalist Claude Jordan (born around 1659) from Valence, and the printer André Chevalier (1660-1747), a Frenchman from Bourg-en-Bresse, who had a printing press in Luxembourg city. Jordan had previously published the Gazettes de Hollande in Leyden and Amsterdam. In 1704, the two joined forces to produce a newspaper from Luxembourg aimed at the Lorraine region (which was then independent of France) and the French market, following the model of the Gazettes de Hollande.

[Leipzig, 1930). 8vo. Stapled extract. Some flossing to inner margin, probably from when extracted, far from affecting text. Handwritten indication of the journal, from which it is extracted, in pencil, on top of first page. Pp. (349) - 360. The scarce first printing of this seminal paper, in which Gödel, the greatest logician since Aristotle, proves for the first time the compactness theorem, which is of the greatest importance to the development of model theory, as it provides a useful method for constructing models of any set of sentences that is finitely consistent. The compactness theorem is used by Gödel to derive a generalization of the completeness theorem. The present highly important and influential paper constitutes a revised and shortened version of Gödel's doctorial dissertation, published the same year, in which he showed that every valid formula of first-order logic is provable and, moreover that each axiom of first-order logic is independent (the first of which is referred to as Gödel's completeness theorem). In this journal version he, in addition to that proved in the dissertation, also proved his highly influential compactness theorem (which states that a set of first-order sentences has a model if and only if every finite subset of it has a model). "G settled the [problem] of completeness (positively) in the summer and wrote up the result as his dissertation, which was finished by July. A revised version was received by the editor of "Monatshefte" on 22 October and published 1930; a main addition was what is now known as "Compactness theorem". G received his doctoral degree on 6 February 1930. He presented his result in Menger's colloquium on 14 May and in Königsberg on 6 September 1930." (Wang, Reflections on Kurt Gödel). "The Compactness Theorem was extended to the case of uncountable vocabularies by Maltsev in 1936, from which the Upward Löwenheim-Skolem theorem immediately follows. The Compactness Theorem would become one of the main tools in the then fledgling subject of model theory." (SEP).From the library of the highly important Danish logician and philosopher Jørgen Jørgensen (1894-1969), who was an active collaborator with the logical positivists from the Vienna Circle. After Hans Hahn's death he became editor of the series of the Vienna Circle, the "Einheitswissenchaft" ("Unified Science"), and later he collaborated on the International Encyclopedia, to which he contributed with the essay "The Development of Logical Empiricism", 1951. Jørgensen is also widely recognized for his three volume work "Treatise of Formal Logic; Its Evolution and Main Branches, with its Relations to Mathematics and Philosophy", 1931.Apart from the paramount importance of the paper, it is also of the utmost rarity, as evidenced by the fact that it is neither present in the collection of Honeyman, Barchas, Haskell Norman, nor Hook & Norman: Origins of Cyberspace, and furthermore, the paper has not been up for sale on any of the major auction houses for at least the last 50 years.

Torino, Unione Tipografico-Editrice, 1886. Royal8vo. Bound uncut and largely unopened with the original printed wrappers in a very nice recent red half calf binding with marbled paper covered boards. Half-title and title-page browned. Published as "Biblioteca dell'Economista", Third Series, volume 9. An unusually fine copy. Il Capitale: 685 pp. [Entire volume: (4), 903, (1) pp.]. First full Italian translation of Marx' landmark work, constituting what is arguably the greatest revolutionary work of the nineteenth century. The work proved immensely influential in both communist and fascist circles. Antonio Gramsci, founding member and one-time leader of the Communist Party of Italy (PCI), based much of his theoretical and practical work on the present translation of Marx' work and Ezra Pound read this Italian translation (which is among the most heavily marked annotated volumes in his personal library) and was horrified by the accounts of the exploitation of labor given by Marx which eventually grew into his sympathy for fascism and Mussolini's socialist roots. (Rainey, Textual Studies in the Cantos).The translation was done in nine installments beginning in 1882 but was not published until 1886. The translation, however, remained relatively unknown: "It was difficult in Italy during that period [late 19th century] to obtain Marx's works. With the exception of Cafiero's hard to find summary and some other summarizing pamphlets published by another Southern scholar, Pasquale Martiguetti of Benevent, those Italians who sought to consult Marx were forced (unless they could read the original German) to have recourse to the French translation of the first volume of 'Capital', published in 1875. True, in 1886 Boccardo had published in Biblioteca dell'Economista, an Italian translation of 'Capital', but this was inaccessible to those of modest means." (Piccone, Italian Marxism).The first edition of the work originally appeared in German in 1867, and only the first part of the work appeared in Marx' lifetime.Bert Andréas 154Einaudi (not numbered, between no. 3769 and 3770)Mattioli 2287 (a reprint from 1916).

(Wien, K.k. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1877). 8vo. In the original orange-brown printed wrappers, uncut and unopened. Near mint. (16), 13, III pp + 1 folded lithographic plate by Schuma, after Freud. First edition, in the scarce offprint, of Freud's first publication, which documents the early beginnings of the scientific thought that came to found psychoanalysis. In 1873 Freud entered the University of Vienna to study medicine. He chose to study medicine, not because he wanted to be a practitioner, but because he wanted to study the human condition with scientific rigor. In his early career, he modeled himself on Ernst von Brücke. "He spent an increasing amount of time in Brücke's Physiological Institute from 1876 through 1882. His first studies were on the connection of a large nerve cell (Reissner's cell) that had been discovered in the spinal cord of a primitive genus of fish, and his observations made it possible to fit these cells into an evolutionary scheme." (D.S.B. V:172).In the background of this task - of studying this nerve cell of a primitive fish - lay a greater question; a question that arguably became formative for the greatest revolutionizer of the human mind, namely the question about the nervous system of higher animals - including human beings - differing in kind from the lower ones. "Freud's precise observation revealed that the presence of Reissner cells in the primitive spinal cord was because of the incomplete development of the embryonic neural tube to the periphery, and that this demonstrated an evolutionary continuity between the two. Having successfully solved this problem, he then continued his histological research on nerve cells, but also decided independently to work on crayfish... [h]e was beginning to show himself to be a creative scientist, heuristically positing a conception on the basis of empirical evidence, something that would reappear in his psychoanalytic method..." (Thomas Dalzell, "Freud's Schreber Between Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis...", p. 156). "Years later Freud found this evolutionary-anatomical parallel to his phychoanalytic findings of important didactic use in his "Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis." (Sulloway, "Freud, Biologist of the mind: Beyond the Psychoanalytic Legend", p. 268). "To this vast and exciting field of research [the composition of nerve cells and the question whether the nervous system of higher animals is made up of elements different from those of lower animals] belonged the very modest problem which Brücke put before Freud. In the spinal cord of the Amoecetes (Petromyzon), a genus of fish belonging to the primitive Cyclostomatae, Reissner had discovered a particular kind of cell. ... Brücke wished the histology of these cells clarified. After a few weeks Freud came to him with the quite unexpected discovery that non-myelinated fibres of the posterior (sensory) nerves originated in some of Reissner's cells. Other fibres, probably also sensory, coming from these cells passed behind the central canal to the opposite side of the spinal cord ... Brücke pressed for publication [and] presented the study at the Academy of Sciences meeting of january 4, 1877. It appeared in the January Bulletin of the Academy. It was the first paper of Freud's to be actually published, since the one on his first piece of research, on the eel, did not appear until 3 months later." (Jones, Life and Work, vol. I, pp. 51 - 53).

London, T. Bensley, for John Stockdale, 1810. Large folio-oblong. (44x58 cm.). Fine later full calf. 6 raised bands, richly gilt compartments. Titlelabel with gilt lettering. Broad gilt borders on covers. Engraved handcoloured frontispiece. (28),22 pp., 20 fine handcoloured engraved plates and 1 engraved handcoloured map. All plates with tissue-guards. Frontispiece with a repaired tear in lower left corner far from image. A closed tear in one plate, only marginal, not effecting image. A small piece of cornerpaper on one plate gone, far from image. Clean and fine. On heavy paper, and with broad margins. Second edition but in a contemporary HANDCOLOURING. Swinburne's "Travels through Spain" were issued in a quarto volume by Peter Elmsly of London in 1779, then reprinted in a pirate edition in Dublin the same year; a second edition in two octavo volumes came out in 1787. The title was then turned into a picturesque set of engravings entitled Views in Spain, from the drawings of Henry Swinburne (1794), in turn recycled as the Picturesque Tour through Spain in 1806, 1810 and 1823, with brief texts in French and English facing the plates followed by a 22-page abridged version of the Travels. These edition are normally published uncoloured.

Berlin, Hayn, 1851. 8vo. Uniformly bound in two uniform, contemporary - possibly original! - embossed full cloth bindings. Embossed lettering and ornamentation to spine. Spines and borders of boards slightly faded. Spines with repairs. Front free end-paper in vol. 2 with repair. Previous owner's label (Julius Kotrtsch) pasted on to lower margin of title-pages. Previous owner's name in contemporary hand to upper margin of title-pages. Verso of last leaf in vol. 2 annotated in pencil. Vol. 1 with light occasinal marginal browspotting. (6), 465, (1) pp.; IV, 531 pp. The scarce first edition of Schopenhauer's most influential work, his final masterpiece, which consists in his seminal philosophical reflections. The Parerga and Paralipomena was the first of his works to gain recognition and the work that propelled the then obscure figure into lasting philosophical prominence. Seeing that all of Schopenhauer's previous publications had been complete failures, it was only with great difficulty and reluctance that Hayn of Berlin was pesuaded to print the work, which they then only did in a small printrun of merely 750 copies, which now makes the first edition very difficult to find. The work is is two parts with the first "parerga"-part consisting in six extended essays intended as supplementary to the author's thought whereas the second "paralipomena"-part consists in shorter elaborations divided by topic into thirty-one subheadings that cover material hitherto unaddressed by Schopenhauer, but complementary to the "parerga". In spite of the poor reception of his earlier works, somehow, the “Parerga and Paralipomena attracted the attention of John Oxenford, a noted observer and translator of German literary culture, who contributed a favourable review of the work in 1852 and in 1853 wrote an article on Schopenhauer's philosophy entitled "Iconoclasm in German Philosophy", which, through its German translation in Vossische Zeitung sparked in immediate interest of Schopenhauer's work in Germany and propelled him into philosophical fame. “The effect was dramatic and almost overnight Schopenhauer in his own country passed from obscurity to fame and from then till his death in 1860he basked in the sunshine of belated recognition and eminence.” (Payne, in the Preface to his translation of Parerga and Paralipomena into English, Oxford, 2000p. xii) The work greatly influenced later philosophers, most notably Nietzsche, whose fondness of aphorism is directly inspired by “Parerga and Paralipomena”. “One of the most significant and fascinating works of the great philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860). The Parerga (Volume 1) are six long essays; the Paralipomena (Volume 2) are shorter writings arranged under thirty-one different subject-headings. These works won widespread attention with their publication in 1851, helping to secure lasting international fame for Schopenhauer. Indeed, their intellectual vigor, literary power, and rich diversity are still extraordinary even today.” (Payne).

(Unsigned, and no date, but penned between 1746 and 1751). 1 leaf 4to (25,5 x 19 cm), off-white paper in fine condition. Fully penned on both recto (24 lines) and verso (5 lines). This magnificent manuscript leaf in Rousseau's hand constitutes notes on marriage rituals taken from "Rituel des Chartres", which was printed in Paris in 1531. This manuscript leaf is part of a grandiose project that Rousseau was working on with his employer Madame Dupin during his years as her secretary. The project was that of writing the history of womankind. With its focus on gender equality, the work is nothing less than pioneering and would no doubt have been a work of seminal importance in the history of feminism and women's rights, had it ever been published. The manuscript ended up comprising more than 2.000 pages, but was never printed. Louise Marie Madeline Fontaine Dupin (1706-1799) was one of the most famous salonnieres of the 18th century, renowned for the beauty as well as her intelligence. Rousseu met her in 1743 and took an instant liking to her. In 1745, she offered him the position as her private secretary and tutor to her son. During his six years in her employment, he spent most of the time working on the grandiose project of the history of women, until it was abandoned in 1751. "In the years between 1745 and 1749 Jean Jacques Rousseau was employed by Louise Marie Madeline Dupin as a research assistant on her ambitious project to delineate in print the history of women. After years of labor by Rousseau and Madame Dupin her "Ouvrage sur les Femmes" was shelved, unfinished. The research notes, drafts, and fair copies written by Rousseau and his employer were stored at the chateau of Chenonceaux, essentially forgotten, until their sale at a series of auctions held between 1951 and 1958." (Harry Ranson Center, University of Texas)

London, W. Bulmer & Co. for Peter Elmsley, 1800. 4to. In recent marbled paper wrappers. Extracted from "Philosophical Transactions", volume 90, part II. Including title-page of volume. Leaves reinforced in margin. Light offsetting from folding plate as usual. Plate trimmed with loss of right margin. (4), 403-431 pp. + folded plate. First edition of "the first announcement of the voltaic 'pile,' or electric battery" (Grolier/Horblit). It was a breakthrough in physics, and led to the development of electrotechnology and is today regarded as being one of the major milestones in the history of science. "The voltaic pile revolutionized the theory and practice of electricity, so that within one hundred years of Volta's invention, more progress was made than in the two thousand four hundred years between the tentative experience of Thales and the publication of Volta's letter addressed to Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society ... The indispensability and ubiquity of electricity, in one form or another, in western civilization today emphasize sharply the fact that before 1800 human environment and existence were closer to life in ancient Egypt than to our own. Volta's invention is one of the earliest and most important causes of the change" (PMM)."The paper, in French, was sent by Volta to his friend Cavallo in London for communication to the Royal Society. In it Volta describes the pile of alternating dissimilar metals (silver and zinc) which, when moist, generated a flow of constant-current electricity. With this new force water was decomposed, metal was electro-deposited, the electro-magnet was created and the electrical age was begun."(Dibner Heralds of Science, no. 60).Horblit 37b Norman 2164 PMM 255Sparrow 168Dibner 60Barchas 2092

Berlin, S. Fischer Verlag, 1912. Royal 8vo. Volumes 1 and 2 (i.e. the entire year) of "Die neue Rundschau, 1912" present, in the original half vellum bindings with gilt title to spines. A few pencil annotations on flyleaf. An exceedingly nice and clean set. The true first printing of Thomas Mann's masterpiece, "The Death in Venice". Contrary to what is generally believed, the actual first appearance of "The Death in Venice" was not the extremely scarce de luxe-edition that appeared in 100 numbered copies in 1912. In fact the work originally appeared (and in its entirety) in the October and November issues (i.e. in the second volume, on pp. 1368-1398 + 1499-1526) of "Die Neue Rundschau", 1912.Simultaneusly with this first appearance, Poeschel und Trepte in Leipzig were preparing the luxury edition of the work for Hans von Weber's Hyperionverlag in Munich, as one of his "Hundertdrucke". Probably due to the controversial theme of the work, Thomas Mann was hesitant to immediately handing over the manuscript to his regular publisher S. Fisher for him to publish it directly and had settled on the bibliophile edition already before finishing the work. He did give Fischer the work to publish, though, and thus it came to appear both in Fischer's "Neue Rundschau", over two months, and with Weber's Hyperionverlag. While the first part of the work was being published in "Die neue Rundschau", the luxury edition was being prepared, and in the end, the luxury edition was only issued (shortly) after the second and final part had appeared in "Die neue Rundschau" in November 1912. Shortly after the famous luxury edition, in 1913, Fischer published the first trade edition in book form. By 1924, 50.000 copies of the work had appeared in this form. Thomas Mann's disturbing masterpiece, probably the most famous story of obsession ever written, is considered one of the most important literary productions of the 20th century.

Modena, Nicola Zanichelli e. Soci, 1864. 8vo. In contemporary half calf with four raised bands and gilt lettering to spine. Reinforced in inner margins and plate with waterstains to lower margin. An unusually fine and well preserved copy, internally as well as externally. XV, 403 pp + 1 plate. Rare first edition of the first Italian translation of Darwin's seminal "Origin of Species", quite unusually, authorized by Darwin himself. The work was very well received and - compared to France and Spain - Darwinism was quickly adopted by Italian biologist and zoologist and meet only little catholic opposition. "The impact of Darwinism on Italian naturalists was powerful; the logic and rigorous treatment of the problem of the origin of species as Darwin had presented it, forced zoologists and anthropologists to reconsider those passages of Lamarckisms that they had agreed to with excessive enthusiasm". (Capanna, Darwinism and the Italian academies). The reception of Darwin's work in France (1862) and Spain (1877) were characterized by a strong chatolic opposition, which also had a strong suppressing effect on the spread of his ideas to academic institutions.Despite of Italy being a catholic stronghold the reception of Darwinism was very favourable and meet very limited criticism from the church:"In contrast to the power Catholicism was able to exert against Darwinism in Spain, it was practically impotent in Italy. Neither could the Italian Catholic intellectual establishment draw upon a repertory of anti-Darwinism arguments from the Italian scientific establishment, as was done in France. As in France under the Third Republic and as was the case sporadically in Spain, the advent of Darwinism in Italy provided a source of ideology for the anticlerical movement. Although Darwinism enjoyed a number of close connections with the English source, the peculiarities of the Italian situation set Darwinism in Italy apart from other situations. Italy was in the forefront in recognizing Darwin, electing him to various academies and societies and awarding him the famous Bressa Prize in 1875. In Italy the translation of the Origin "1864" was given an impeccable scientific presentation by Giocanni Canestrini and Leonardo Salimbeni, which avoided the type of situation that arose from the presentation of Darwinism in France by Clémence Royer as a new scientific basis for a secularistic Weltanschauung. As a general explanation, of course, it is reasonable to accept Cermenati's arguments that the favorable receptivity of the scientific community and the general indifference to ecclesiastical objections to Darwinism are the chief factors explaining the quick spread of Darwinism in Italy". (Glick, The Comparative Reception of Darwinism).Emma Darwin, Darwin's wife, wrote publisher John Murry on the 17th of December: "Mr Darwin desires me to say that as you have never hesitated to authorize a foreign translation he has taken upon himself to authorise a translation into Italian without consulting you." When Darwin was informed that his work was being translated into Italian he wrote to his close friend J. D. Hooker: "There is an Italian Edit. of Origin preparing!!! This makes fifth foreign Edit, ie in five foreign countries. Owen will not be right in telling Longmans that Book wd be utterly forgotten in ten years. Hurrah!".Freeman no. 706

Leipzig, (Vögelin), 1560. Folio (323 x 220 mm). In contemporary blindstamped pigskin over wooden boards with four raised bands. With two catches and one of two clasps. Wear and discolouration to extremities. Wormholes to boards. A few wormtracts throughout, primarily affecting first and last 30 leaves. Short annotation in contemporary hand to title-page. A few marginal annotations throughout. Last blanks heavily annotated in contemporary hand. (20), 982 pp. First edition of Melanchthon's last work (published just three months before his death), in which he consolidated a lifetime of learning into the remarkable Body of Christian Doctrine (often referred to as Corpus Doctrinae Philippicum). Melanchthon had conceived the notion of assembling his most important theological writings, along with the ecumenical creeds, into one single book. The writings served as the authoritative declaration and instruction within that particular Christian group or denomination. In the mid-16th century Lutheranism crafted these compilations for the diverse duchies and principalities of the Holy Roman Empire. These anthologies laid the groundwork for the Book of Concord, recognized historically by Lutherans as their ultimate Body of Doctrine." The 16th Century Reformation and the contemporary face of Christianity owe much to Philipp Melanchthon. Endowed with profound knowledge of the Greek language, Melanchthon played a crucial role in assisting Martin Luther in translating the Bible. Adams M1105BLSTC German p.610