Details
HUYGENS, Christiaan (1629-95). The Celestial Worlds discover'd: or, Conjectures concerning the Inhabitants, plants and productions of the worlds in the planets. London: for Timothy Childe, 1698. Small 8° (175 x 109mm). 4 folding engraved plates. Contemporary sprinkled calf (neatly rebacked with old spine partly relaid, small wormhole in tail of spine, some repairs on front cover, lightly rubbed). Provenance: Sir Bourchier Wrey of Tavistock (armorial bookplate and presentation inscription to W. Chichester); W. Chichester (faded signature on endpaper, dated 1728).
FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH, first published in Latin in the same year under the title Cosmotheoros. It is one of the earliest discussions of extraterrestrial life. Huygens argued that "in the Copernican world system ... the earth holds no privileged position among the other planets. It would therefore be unreasonable to suppose that life should be restricted to the earth alone ... Huygens came to the conclusion that, in all probablilty, the plant and animal worlds of other planets are very like those of the earth" (DSB). Cosmotheoros had a broad readership and was translated into several languages. Wing H3859. Wellcome only lists the second edition.
FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH, first published in Latin in the same year under the title Cosmotheoros. It is one of the earliest discussions of extraterrestrial life. Huygens argued that "in the Copernican world system ... the earth holds no privileged position among the other planets. It would therefore be unreasonable to suppose that life should be restricted to the earth alone ... Huygens came to the conclusion that, in all probablilty, the plant and animal worlds of other planets are very like those of the earth" (DSB). Cosmotheoros had a broad readership and was translated into several languages. Wing H3859. Wellcome only lists the second edition.
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This lot has 5 folding engraved plates and not 4 as stated in the catalogue.