.jpg?w=1)
Details
KEPLER, Johannes (1571-1630). Tabulae Rudolphinae, quibus astronomicae scientiae, temporum longinquitate collapsae restauratio continentur. Ulm: Jonas Saur, 1627.
4 parts in one volume, 4° (321 x 210mm). Engraved allegorical frontispiece of the Temple of Urania by George Celer after Kepler, a few woodcut diagrams, including a full-page of diagrams on k3v, woodcut initials and head- and tailpieces. This copy includes the 4-leaf ‘Sportula genethliacis missa’ (q4) issued in 1629. (Title and engraved title on guard, a few leaves lightly browned, ‘Sportula’ heavily browned, b3 with long closed tear causing loss of a few letters, light waterstaining at end, lightly spotted.) 19th-century calf-backed boards (joints split at head and tail of spine, quite rubbed). Provenance: Paris, Oratorians (title inscription) — Dom. S. Aloys Jerseiens’ (stamp on endpaper and verso of title) — ‘Ecole Sainte Genevieve’ (stamp on title).
FIRST EDITION, third issue. 'THE CHIEF VEHICLE FOR THE RECOGNITION OF HIS ASTRONOMICAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS' (DSB). On his deathbed in 1601, Tycho Brahe urged Kepler to complete his long-projected astronomical tables, to be based on Tycho's mass of observations and named after their patron Rudolph II. Kepler worked on these for years, with frequent interruptions. 'In excusing the long delay in publication [Kepler] mentioned in the preface not only the difficulties of obtaining his salary and of the wartime conditions but also "the novelty of my discoveries and the unexpected transfer of the whole of astronomy from fictitious circles to natural causes, which were most profound to investigate, difficult to explain, and difficult to calculate, since mine was the first attempt"' (DSB). The greatly improved accuracy of Kepler's tables over previous planetary tables was due in part to his discovery of the laws of planetary motion, but also to the 'happy calamity', as he put it, of his initiation into Napier's logarithms. Kepler created his own logarithmic tables (published in 1624), and used them for the complex calculations required to determine planetary orbits. The superiority of his tables 'constituted a strong endorsement of the Copernican system, and insured the tables' dominance in the field of astronomy throughout he seventeenth century' (Norman). Caspar 79; Houzeau & Lancaster 12754; Norman 1208; Shirley 335; Zinner 5063.
4 parts in one volume, 4° (321 x 210mm). Engraved allegorical frontispiece of the Temple of Urania by George Celer after Kepler, a few woodcut diagrams, including a full-page of diagrams on k3v, woodcut initials and head- and tailpieces. This copy includes the 4-leaf ‘Sportula genethliacis missa’ (q4) issued in 1629. (Title and engraved title on guard, a few leaves lightly browned, ‘Sportula’ heavily browned, b3 with long closed tear causing loss of a few letters, light waterstaining at end, lightly spotted.) 19th-century calf-backed boards (joints split at head and tail of spine, quite rubbed). Provenance: Paris, Oratorians (title inscription) — Dom. S. Aloys Jerseiens’ (stamp on endpaper and verso of title) — ‘Ecole Sainte Genevieve’ (stamp on title).
FIRST EDITION, third issue. 'THE CHIEF VEHICLE FOR THE RECOGNITION OF HIS ASTRONOMICAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS' (DSB). On his deathbed in 1601, Tycho Brahe urged Kepler to complete his long-projected astronomical tables, to be based on Tycho's mass of observations and named after their patron Rudolph II. Kepler worked on these for years, with frequent interruptions. 'In excusing the long delay in publication [Kepler] mentioned in the preface not only the difficulties of obtaining his salary and of the wartime conditions but also "the novelty of my discoveries and the unexpected transfer of the whole of astronomy from fictitious circles to natural causes, which were most profound to investigate, difficult to explain, and difficult to calculate, since mine was the first attempt"' (DSB). The greatly improved accuracy of Kepler's tables over previous planetary tables was due in part to his discovery of the laws of planetary motion, but also to the 'happy calamity', as he put it, of his initiation into Napier's logarithms. Kepler created his own logarithmic tables (published in 1624), and used them for the complex calculations required to determine planetary orbits. The superiority of his tables 'constituted a strong endorsement of the Copernican system, and insured the tables' dominance in the field of astronomy throughout he seventeenth century' (Norman). Caspar 79; Houzeau & Lancaster 12754; Norman 1208; Shirley 335; Zinner 5063.
Special notice
No VAT on hammer price or buyer's premium.
Brought to you by
Julian Wilson