Antiquariat - Michael Kühn

Antiquariat
Michael Kühn
Berlin
Apocalypse now
Poyssel, Eustachius (Pseud.)
Magischer Beweiß Alles deß jenigen / was der Autor dieses Tractats / seydhero deß
verschinen 1583. Jahrs unnd deß Newen Calenders anfang / in dem offenen druck
hat ausgehen lassen: und sonderlich / Von dem zustand der jetzigen gegenwertigen
zeit / diesem gegenwertigen 1609. und den hernach folgenden jahren biß auf die
fröhliche Zukunfft deß Herrn Christi (Teil 2:) Der Ander Theil Deß Magischen beweises, darinnen unser gegenwertige zeit, und wie weit wir in der heiligen Offenbarung Johannis kommen seyen jeder meniglich für die augen gestellet wird ... 2 parts
in 1. (without printer, without place, 1609) Quarto (180 mm) (2), 56, (2, blank); 15
pp., (1, blank) with 2 title-vignettes and two full-page woodcuts, leaf A2 & A3 with
old restoration in the blank part, some browning. Marbled Wrappers.
EUR 4.000,Exceedingly rare eschatological prognosticon by the
unidentified ‚Eustachius Poyssel’ (fl. 1589-1597) on the
Apocalypse of Johannes in which he used numerology
to show that the end of the world was near, a work in
the tradition of the Wittenberg mathematician Michael
Stifel. Eustachius Poyssel used numerology to pin-point
1623 as the year of the end of the world. The woodcuts
show the sign of the zodiac with apocalyptical emblems.
(Turks), desertion of the true faith (Roman Church), the
rise of deviant sects (Calvinists et al) and the conversion
of the jews. Not surprisingly, for many Lutherans the
new apparitions became occasions not just for gleaning
eschatological meanings from key apocalyptic passages
in the New Testament and prophetic writings.Poyssel
wrote some books in cooperation with the mathematician, astronomer, medicine David Herlitz (1557-1636).
Attention to the science of astronomy received an
unexpected boost with the dramatic and unheralded
arrival of two apparitions in the skies of the 1570’s.
These unforeseen appearances, taken to be evidence of
God’ extraordinary capacity to intervene in the orderly
course of nature, attracted interest across Europe at a
time when German popular practica and prognostica
were filled with the most dire warnings about the anticipated closure of all closures; the arrival of the antichrist
With a letter by the Galilei friend, Orazio Morandi
(1570-1630) dated Ripoli, 18 April 1620 to an
unknown person. Orazio Morandi (ca. 1570-1630),
a roman patrician, devoted himself exclusively to the
study of the occult sciences, and formed a friendship
with Antonio & Giovanni de’ Medici, who were considered experts in those arts. Being accused of sorcery
and above all of having predicted the death of pope
Urban VIII., he was arrested and sent to prison, were he
died. He was a personal friend of Galilei and his circle
discussed numerous prohibited or dangerous books.
Morandi opened his astrological and occult library to
the „public“, and he had an european network of people
who helped him find the books in the occult and astrological arts.- (Dooley. Science and the Marketplace 20
ff.) The book here might be one of the orders (?) for his
library.- Bircher A 5133 (part 1); Hohenemser 207 (part
1); VD17 23:252804L (part 1); KVK: Dresden & Wolfenbüttel (both only part one); Warsaw (part two). The rare
second part is bibliographically not yet described.
Editio princeps of this important travel account in the
Ottoman empire in the years 1580-1582. Anonymously printed, the pamphlet most probably came from
the press of Stephan Moellemann in Rostock. Born
into a noble family in Pomeriania, and well educated,
Billerbeg was a historian of repute. Dated 1 October
1582, he dedicates his text to his former preceptor,
the Lutheran professor and historian at Rostock and an
important researcher of the Eastern churches, David
Chytraeus (1530-1600). It is also to him that Billerbeg
sent his first epistolary dispatch of 9 July 1581, written
from Constantinople. Printed as Epistola Constantinopoli, recens scripta, de praesenti Turcici Im-perii statu in
1582 it contains the traveller’s description of the most
important personalities of the Ottoman Empire and
Turkey, Syria, Palestine and Egypt
[Billerbeg or Billerbeck, Franz von].
Epistola continens Hodoeporicon navigationis ex Constantinopoli
in Syriam, Palaestinam et Aegyptum: et Montem Sinai &c. item de
Persico Bello & circumcisione Mahometis filii Imp. Turcici, aliisque
rebus Constantinopoli superiore aestate actis. [Rostock, Stephan Möllemann ?], 1583. Small 4to, ff. [8], with a woodcut title vignette, one
6-line woodcut initial, and two small vignettes at the end; a very good,
wide margined copy in early marbled wrappers.
EUR 19.000.-
their war with Persia. Here, as the highlight of his two
year stay with the Ottomans, Billerbeg reports of his
long travel to Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. After Salomon
Schweigger, whom he had met in Constantinople shortly before Schweigger’s return to Germany, Billerbeg was
only the second Lutheran to undertake such a journey
to the Near East.
Between 1 September 1581 and 23 April 1582,
Billerbeg travelled via the Dardanelles Strait to Chios,
Ephes, Rhodes, and via Cyprus to Tripoli. He then visited
Damascus, the Judea and Samaria area, Jerusalem
and Gaza. Travelling through the Egyptian desert he
reached Mount Sinai and Cairo and finally Alexandria,
from where he sailed back to Constantinople. He
arrived in time to witness the magnificent festival held
on the occasion of the circumcision of the crown prince,
Mehmet, the description of which ends the account. In
August 1582 Billerbeg left Constantinople and travelled
through Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary to Vienna, where
he died in 1587.
In contrast to the title vignette and the initial which
were also used by Jacob Lucius the elder, the subtle
vignettes at the end belong to the press of Stephan
Möllemann (latinized Myliander), who printed in
Rostock over a period of fifty years, until 1610. In 1579
Lucius became printer of the university in Helmstedt
and it is likely that the smaller octavo edition of 11
pages of Billerbeg’s text of the same year was printed
by him.- VD 16 (online) ZV-2037 (two copies, both of
the later, octavo, version of 11 leaves only); Yerasimos,
Les voyageurs dans l’empire Ottoman (1991), 338;
Röhricht, Bibliotheca Geographica Palaestinae, p. 209;
see Göllner 1801 (the 1586 edition only); D. Benga;
David Chytraeus als Erforscher und Wiederentdecker
der Ostkirchen (2006), p. 163ff; not in Blackmer or
Atabey.
One of the Most Promising Ornithologists
of the Period
Kuhl, Heinrich.
H. Kuhl, Ph. Dr. Ac. ... Conspectus Psittacorum cum specierum
definitionibus, novarum descriptionibus, synonymis et circa patriam
singularum naturalem adversariis, adjecto indice museorum, ubi
earum artificiosae exuviae servantur; cum tabulis III. aeneis pictis.(Bonn: Adolph Marcus, 1820) Quarto. 104 pp. with three colored
folding plates, pinc. by C. Müller. Half calf period style, fresh copy,
edges of the plates unfresh folded. Fine copy.
EUR 2.000.First edition of his important book on parrots; Kuhl studied in London with
Temminck the parrots in the Linnean Society collection. Heinrich Kuhl (1797
– 1821), german naturalist & zoologist, who died early in life. He became
early in life assistant to C. J. Temminck at Leiden Rijksmuseum and in 1817
published a monograph on bats, and in 1819 on parrots, on petrels and a
list of all the birds illustrated in Daubenton’s Planches En-luminées. In 1820
he travelled to Java with his friend van Hasselt, to study the animals of the
island, sending back to the museum at Leiden 200 skeletons, 200 mammal
skins of 65 species, 2000 bird skins, 1400 fishes, 300 reptiles and amphibians, and many insects and crustaceans. He described many new species
and new genera, but in 1821 died in Buitenzorg (Bogor) of a liver infection
brought on by the climate and overexertion. Johan van Hasselt continued
his work collecting specimens, but died two years later.
Painter of the ‚k.k. Natural History Cabinet‘
Blaschek, Franz.
A Study of „Aram Dracunculus“. Charcoal brush drawing, watercolor
painting with opaque colors on yellowish strong paper, watermarked:
C & I. Honig. Signed and title by Fr. Blaschek. sheet size: 585 x 443
mm.
EUR 4.500.Fine drawing of Arum Dracunculus (Dragon
Arum), an endemic plant to the Balkans,
extending as far as Greece, Crete, and the
Aegean islands, and also to the south-western
parts of Anatolia. The first real attempt to
classify the common aroids was made by
Tournefort in 1719. The first major system of
classification for the family was produced by
the austrian botanist Heinrich Wilhelm Schott
(1794-1865), who published Genera Aroidearum in 1858 and Prodromus Systematis
Aroidearum in 1860. He was a participant in
the austrian brazil expedition and in 1828 he
was appointed Hofgärtner (royal gardener) in
Vienna. This study might be inspired by him.
Franz Blaschek (1787-1849), flower painter
and lithographer, studied at the Vienna
Academy of Arts with Johann Baptist Drechsler
and Sebastian Wegmayr. From 1819 to 1827
he worked as painter for the natural history
collection (k.k. Naturalien-Kabinett).
In 1748 emperor Franz Stephan of Lothringen
bought the collection of Johann Ritter von
Baillou, which marked the beginnings of the
‚k.k. Hof-Naturalien-Cabinet‘ (austrian natural
history collection). In the beginning the collection was centered on minerals and fossils
which were easy to store. Later the collection
was bought by the state and in 1776 empress
Maria Theresia named Ignaz von Born as curator of the collections. in 1807 a plant cabinet
was included and a cabinet of animals (with
the insect collection of Johann Natterer).
Franz Blaschek studierte an der Akademie
der bildenden Künste in Wien bei Johann
Baptist Drechsler und Sebastian Wegmayr. Von
1819-1827 war er Hofmaler am k. k. Naturalien-Kabinett. Auf den Akademieausstellungen
war er in den Jahren von 1835-1846 mit
Werken vertreten; er gilt als bedeutender
„Blumenmaler“.
Path to the Periodic table
Cannizzaro, Stanislao.
Lezioni sulla teoria atomica, fatte nella R. Università di Genova.
Estratto dalla Liguria Medica. Giornale di scienze mediche e naturali,
… n(o). 5 e 6 del 1858. (Genova: Tip. Sordo-Muti, 1858). 30 pp.,
(2, last blank) Later Wrapper, no title page as issued, some foxing. EUR 2.400.Exceedingly rare first edition, Off-Print-issue, which is
only present in libraries in Torino & Lugano. Cannizzaro
was the first to appreciate the full significance of
Avogadro’s hypothesis, and to show that its application
could yield a unique system of atomic weights which
made the path for Mendeleev. This is a sequel to his
famous „Sunto“ which was published a few months earlier. The Sunto is a historical survey into the philosophy
of chemistry, as this work is on atomic theory. It also
cites the then forgotten theories of Avogadro.
In 1858 Stanislao Cannizzaro (1826–1910) outlined
a course in theoretical chemistry for students at the
University of Genoa – where he had to teach without
benefit of a laboratory. He used the hypothesis of a
fellow Italian, Amedeo Avogadro, who had died just
two years earlier, as a pathway out of the confusion
rampant among chemists about atomic weights and the
fundamental structure of chemical compounds.
Avogadro had hypothesized that equal volumes of gases
at the same temperature and pressure contain equal
numbers of molecules, from which it followed that relative molecular weights of any two gases are the same
as the ratio of the densities of the two gases under the
same conditions of temperature and pressure. Avogadro
also reasoned that simple gases were not formed of
solitary atoms but were instead compound molecules
of two or more atoms. By all accounts Cannizzaro was
much clearer in his explanations than Avogadro, and
as an organic chemist he also showed how Avogadro’s
ideas could be applied to this branch of chemistry. In
1860 the first international chemical congress was held
in Karlsruhe, Germany, to settle some of the contemporary chemical disputes – how to define molecule and
atom, what chemical nomenclature to use, and so on.
Many participants carried away a handout – a printed
version of Cannizzaro’s course outline – that seemed
convincing upon later reading. (Chemical Heritage
Library).- not in Neville Historical Library & Cole; Partington IV, 489-494.
Balmer’s lines
Balmer, Johann Jacob.
Notiz über die Spectrallinien des Wasserstoffs; Sonderabdruck aus: Annalen der Physik und Chemie, 25
(1885).- Leipzig: Barth, 1885. 8°. pp. 80-87. Brown
wrappers as issued, only little used. Name of Kundt on
Wrappers, else a very nice copy and fresh copy.
Very rare Off-Print copy to include Balmer’s formula,
the copy of the physicist August Kundt (1839-1894).
This version appeared shortly after it was first published
in the Verhandl. d. naturforschenden Gesell. Basel. With
this condensed version in the most important german
speaking physical journal the results of Balmer became
widely known.
Balmer (1825-1898) is best remembered for his work
on spectral series and his formula, given in 1885, for
the wave-lengths of the spectral lines of the hydrogen
atom. This was set out in one of only two papers which
he wrote on spectra of the elements, the second being
in 1897.
The major contribution which Balmer made, depended
much more on his mathematical skills than on his
EUR 2.400.understanding of physics, for he produced a formula
which gave the wavelengths of the observed lines
produced by the hydrogen atom without giving any
physical explanation. In his paper of 1885 Balmer suggested that giving n other small integer values would
give the wavelengths of other series produced by the
hydrogen atom. Indeed this prediction turned out to be
correct and these series of lines were later observed.
The reason why the formula holds was not understood
in Balmer‘s lifetime and had to wait until the theoretical
work of Niels Bohr in 1913. Balmer‘s formula led to
more general formulae for the spectral lines of other
atoms. Others who, basing their ideas on those of
Balmer, were able to achieve such results included Rydberg, Kayser and Runge.- OCLC/ KVK: Hamburg, Basel,
Indiana, Caltech, Florida (all Off-Print)
Chamisso and Californian Poppy
Nees von Esenbeck, Christian Gottfried. (ed.)
Horae Physicae Berolinenses Collectae ex symbolis virorum doctorum… edi curavit Dr. Christianus Godof. Nees ab Esenbeck. Cum
tabulis aeneis XXVII.- Bonnae (Bonn): Adolph Marcus, 1820. Folio
(355 x 255 mm) with 27 engraved plates (11 hand-colored) after
Ehrenburg, Guimpel, Sturm, and others, several shaved as always
within neatline with loss of 2 plate numerals, small paper label in
blank area of title, bleached ink stamp on dedication. Contemporary
half morocco, spine gilt, morocco label. A fine copy. EUR 5.000.A scarce collection of eleven papers on botanical and
zoological subjects by nine Berlin natural historians,
edited by Christian G. Nees von Esenbeck (1776-1858),
a prolific german botanist, zoologist and natural phi-losopher, who contributed a paper, Sylloge observationum
botanicarum, which describes several plants from South
Africa. He was the author of numerous monographs on
botany and zoology, described approximately 7,000
plant species (almost as many as Linnaeus himself) and
his last official act as president of the German Academy
„Leopoldina“ was to admit Charles Darwin as a member.
Also included is Adelbert von Chamisso’s description of
californian poppy and other american plants, collected
& observed while on Otto von Kotzebue’s scientific
expedition with the ship „Rurik“ to California and the
greater Pacific. Other author’s are H. F. Link (Algue),
Rudolphi, Schlechtendahl, Klug on orthoptera, Otto on
rare plants, Hornschuch on musci, Ehrenberg on fungi,
lichen and canary plants, et al. With a fine Provenance:
Archduke Anton Victor of Austria, with his initial in gilt
on spine.
Ein Sammelwerk („Prachtwerk“) Berliner Naturforscher unter Ägide von Chr. G. Nees von Esenbeck
(1776- 1858) herausgegeben, ein „best of“ Berliner
Naturforscher der Zeit.
ISIS 1820, X, pp. 654-657: „Dieses mit Recht so zu
nennende Prachtwerk kann als Beweis angesehen
werden, dass die deutschen Gelehrten allmählig anfangen zu fühlen, dass sie sich zusammenthun müssen,
wenn sie mit den Ausländern Schritt kommen wollen;
zugleich beweist es Buchhandlermuth und Buchhänd-
lersinn in der kostspieligen und geschmackvollen
Ausstattung eines naturhistorischen Werkes, welchem
Muthe indessen etwas durch die lateinische Sprache
nachgeholfen wird. Das Werk darf sich nehmlich
so-wohl in der Verschwendung des Papiers, als in der
Pracht des Drucks, in der Genauigkeit der Zeichnungen und des Stiches und selbst der Illumination, den
Werken dieser Art der Franzosen und Engländer an die
Seite stellen. Die Zeichnungen sind von verschiedenen,
meist von Gümpel (Guimpel), Sturm, viele Gemälde von
Dr. Ehrenberg, der Stich ist von C. Müller, Jacob Sturm
und Gümpel. … Was nun die Abhandl. selbst betrifft, so
verdienen alle den Ehrentitel der Neuheit, Eigenthümlichkeit und Genauigkeit. Das Werk ist also wirklich ein
Zuwachs für die Wissenschaften und zwar, wie es die
Natur der Prachtwerke erfordert, ein materieller, nicht
ein theoretischer.“ - Nissen BBI 1437;
Private Studies of an Alpine Master Painter
Compton, Edward Harrison (1881-1960)
5 sketch-books with together 215 leaves with pencil or watercolor
sketches of butterflies and butterfly wings, of insects (mainly grasshopper), birds, shells and flowers, often the pages are labeled. Some
images cut out, some images mounted, partly images loosely lying
in, some on thin paper. One book dated: Harrison Compton, 1960
München Herzogstrasse 64, another labeled: Heuschrecken, E.
Harrison Compton, Feldafing, another labeled E. Harrison Compton
1904 and one labeled 16.12. 1956 E. Harrison Compton Feldafing.
coming with: 28 watercolor paintings of butterflies and grasshopers,
mounted under passepartout. Papersize from 130 x 220 mm to 260 x
620 mm, often dated and nearly always signed. EUR 18.000.-
A fine survival of time. Edward Harrison Compton
(1881 – 1960) was a German landscape painter and
illustrator of English descent. Compton was born in
Feldafing / Upper Bavaria, as the second son of notable
landscape painter Edward Theodore Compton. He
received his early art training from his father, and after
a period of study in London at the Central School of Arts
and Crafts settled back in Bavaria. Like his father he
was inspired by the Alps to become a mountain painter
(„Bergmahler“) working in both oils and watercolor.
However, an attack of Polio at the age of 28 meant that
he had to find more accessible landscapes to paint in
Germany, England northern Italy and Sicily. He also provided illustrations for several travel books published by
A & C Black. Compton exhibited at galleries in Munich
and Berlin, and also in England at the Royal Academy in
London and in Bradford.
The Earliest Microphotographic Atlas
Fritsch, Gustav; Otto Müller.
Die Sculptur und die feineren Structurverhältnisse der Diatomaceen.
Abt. 1; mit vorzugsweiser Berücksichtigung der als Probe-Objecte
benutzten Species. Abtheilung I, 12 Tafeln Mikrophotographischer
Abbildungen.- Berlin: Otto Müller’s Verlag; London: Williams &
Norgate, 1870. Quarto (290 x 238 mm), 8 pp. text, 12 plates with
mounted original photographs on heavy card-boards. Imagessize:
170 x 156 mm and little smaller. Original-Portfolio, with heavy
EUR 3.500,–
Very rare microphotographic atlas with mounted original photographs of
diatoms: plate 1: show the famous ‚Diatomaceen-Typen-Platte II.“ of Möller
/ Wedel; 2. Arachnoidiscus ornatus Ehrenberg; 3. Triceratium Favus; 4.
Navicula nobilis; 5. Navicula Lyra; 6. Stauroneis Phoenicenteron; 7. Pleurosigma balticum; 8. Pleurosigma angulatum; 9. Pleurosigma angulatum; 10.
Grammatophora marina; 11. Surirella Gemma; 12. Surirella Gemma. Georg
Ferdinand Otto Müller (1837–1917) lived in Berlin and was a book publisher by profession. He ran his father’s company until 1901 but in his spare
time he did research on diatoms. As a self-thought botanist he published
41 papers on diatoms and publish this book with the known physiologist
& anthropologist Gustav Fritsch including 12 microscopical photographic
plates based on diatom slides by J. D. Möller from Wedel, among others
the ‚Diatomeen-Typenplatten“. His findings in the field of diatomology
resulted in an honorary doctorate from Berlin Univ. in 1897. In 1907 he was
awarded the title professor.- Heidtmann 14001; Neuhauss: „vortreffliche
Abbildungen“.- KVK: Berlin, Göttingen; Geneve Conservatoire; Bordeaux;
Padova; COPAC: Cambridge; OCLC: Woods Hole, Cornell, Philadelphia; Ohio
State, Chicago; Austin, TX, San Francisco; Los Angeles.
The First to visualize Data
– Finding Hidden Trends
Lambert, Johann Heinrich.
Pyrometrie oder vom Maasse des Feuers und der Wärme.- Berlin:
Haude und Spener, 1779. 4o (252 x 198 mm). XXII, (2), 360 pp.,
(4), with 8 engraved plates (one folding). Fine Half calf period style. EUR 2.400,–
First edition, uncommon, of Lambert‘s important work,
containing the record and full discussion of his experiments with heat and containing for the first time elaborate graphs to visualize data. This work was published
posthumously, therefore it is difficult to establish when
he first formulated the idea expressing his data graphically. In the late 17th and early 18th century graphic
analysis of data remained the exception. It started
come into common use after Johann Heinrich Lambert
applied it, initially for barometric data, but soon also for
the visualization of other strings of data taken over long
time series. By plotting these discrete data as points
or columns, with the column’s length proportional to
the measurement value, a quasi-continuous series of
points results that can be read as a curve illustrating the
variation of this quantity as a function of time. William
Playfair, a political economist, made extraordinary
contributions to the historical development of statistical
graphics. But J. H. Lambert, the great scientist, with
his mathematical skills, thought clearly and deeply
about the architecture of statistical displays, and his
data graphics in Pyrometrie (1779) are far superior to
the Playfair displays of the early 1800’s. Lambert uses
graphs not only for presenting experimental data, but
also for correcting observational errors. (Hentschel.
Visual Cultures in Science & Technology); Tilling. Early
Experimental Graphs, 201 ff.; Hankins. Instruments and
the Imagination (2014), 119 ff.
The Beginning of Bavarian Geology
Flurl, Matthias
Beschreibung der Gebirge von Baiern und der oberen Pfalz.- München, Lentner, 1792. 8°. 16 Bl., 642 pp. with etched frontispiece,
etched titlevign., and 4 fold. plates, one partly colored fold. map.
Contemporary half calf with red morocco label, little rubbed, else fine
& fresh copy. On spine former owner monogram: A. v. M.
EUR 1.800,–
Rare first edition, the first description of bavarian
geology to include the first geological map of Bavaria.
Matthias Flurl (1756–1823), who studied privately
with Werner and subsequently became professor
at the Landesakademie in Munich (or the Bavarian
Academy of Sciences) and director of the Bavarian salt
administration. This work includes a trade catalogue
with prices for Nymphenburg porcelain and a list of
mineral specimens (metals & salts) found in Bavaria and
in collections.
Erste Ausgabe. Geologisch-mineralogisch orientierte
Schrift mit Mitteilungen über Preise der Nymphenburger Porzellanmanufaktur und das Vorkommen von
Metallen und Salzen. Die Kupfer zeigen Brennöfen
für Porzellan. Mathias Flurl (1756-1823) ging 1777
als Lehrer nach München, zehn Jahre später wurde
er zum kurfürstlichen Berg- und Münzrat ernannt. Er
unternahm immer wieder Studienreisen, zum Beispiel
in den sächsischen Bergbauort Freiberg, wo er privatim
von Werner unterrichtet wurde. 1792 veröffentlichte
er sein wissenschaftliches Hauptwerk „Beschreibung
der Gebirge von Baiern und der oberen Pfalz“ mit der
ersten geologischen Karte Bayerns und begründete
damit die Mineralogie und Geologie in Bayern. Flurl
sanierte die Nymphenburger Porzellanmanufaktur und
reformierte die oberbayerische Salzgewinnung. Den
Höhepunkt seiner beruflichen Karriere erreichte Flurl,
der zahlreiche Ehrungen, u.a. die Aufnahme in die Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften und die Erhebung in den Adelsstand, erfuhr, im Jahr 1820: Er wurde
zum Vorstand der königlichen General-BergwerksSalinen- und Münzadministration berufen. Am 27. Juli
1823 verstarb Flurl während der Inspektion einer Saline
in Bad Kissingen.– Lentner 2280; Pfister I, 4007; Zittel
125; not in Schuh, Bibl.
Descartes’ Mathematical Education
Francois, Jean.
La science des eaux, qui explique en quatre parties leur formation, communication,
mouvemens, & meslanges. Avec les arts de conduire les eaux, et mesurer la grandeur
tant des eaux que des terres. Qui sont 1. De conduire toute sorte de fontaines; 2. de
niveler toute sorte de pente; 3. De faire monter l’eau sur sa source; 4. De contretirer
toute sorte de plans; 5. De connoistre toute hauteur verticale,& longueur horizontale; 6. D’ Arpenter toute surface terrestre; 7. De compter tout nombre avec la plume
& les jettons.- Rennes: Pierre Hallaudays, 1653. Quarto. Quarto. (16), 1-88, 97120 pp.(= cptl.); 40 pp.; 24 pp.; 56 pp.; 28 pp.; (4), 68 pp. (L’ Arithmetique with
own title-page) Bound in contemporary speckled calf, gilt spine in compartments,
inside some staining and little waterstaining, some quires are browned due to paper
quality. Some pages folded, due to illustrations which otherwise had been cut down.
EUR 4.500.Very rare hydraulic work of Descartes’ teacher at La
Fleche, the only source for Descartes’ mathematical
education; the only copy at auction in recent years
being the incomplete copy from the Macclesfield library.
Jean Francois was Descartes’ teacher in mathematics
in La Fleche. He was born in Saint-Claude in 1582
and was educated at the Jesuit College of Dole before
admitted to the Jesuit Order in 1605. From 1612 to
1616 he taught mathematics at La Fleche, for one year
logic (1617), physics (1618) and metaphysics (1619 1620). After leaving La Fleche, he continued to occupy
important teaching positions at several Jesuit colleges.
He seems to have been a rather outstanding school
teacher although he was not necessarily an original researcher of the first rank. In later years, he was rector at
the colleges of Alencon, Amiens and Nevers. He died in
1668. Descartes had also in later life a high reputation
of him. The books written by Francois are with few exceptions related to mathematics, especially to practical
mathematical sciences such as cosmology, geography,
hydrography, chronometry, and astrology.
„His second treatise on practical geometry is a manual
mainly on the measurement of plane and solid geometrical figures, placing special emphasis on land-survey-
ing and its instruments. The content is very elementary
and the author seems to intend to provide primitive
knowledge which was transmitted in the tradition of
practical geometry of the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
As in the case of the book on arithmetic, a model for
Francois’ textbook of practical geometry might have
been Clavius’ Geometria practica.“ (Sasaki).- Sasaki.
Descartes’ Mathematical Thought, pp. 85 - 89; Dainville. La geographie des humanistes, 276-303. René
Kerviler in: Mélanges historiques, littéraires et bibliographiques publiés à Nantes en 1878 par la Société des
Bibliophiles bretons; Brunet II, 1379.
Father of modern Brain Research
Golgi, Camillo.
Untersuchungen über den feineren Bau des centralen
und peripherischen Nervensystems von Camillo Golgi.
Aus dem italienischen übersetzt von Reinhold Teuscher. 2 Vols. in 1.- Jena: Gustaf Fischer, 1894. Folio
272 pp. with [29] leaves text and with 30 plates. Contemporary Halfcalf, spine restored, Library Ex-Libris
cancelled, else fine copy. Plates fresh.
EUR 8.000,–
Rare first german edition of „Studi sulla fina organisazione del sistema nervoso centrale e periferico“ to
include famous illustrations with the Golgi method.
Golgi‘s method is a silver staining technique discovered
by Italian physician and scientist Camillo Golgi (1843 –
1926) in 1873 that is used to visualize nervous tissue
under light microscopy. It was initially named the black
reaction (la reazione nera) by Golgi, but it became
better known as the Golgi stain or later, Golgi method.
Golgi‘s staining was used by spanish neuroanatomist
Santiago Ramon y Cajal (1852 – 1934) to discover a
number of novel facts about the organization of the
nervous system, inspiring the birth of the neuron doctrine. Ultimately, Ramon y Cajal improved the technique
by using a method he termed „double impregnation.“
Ramon y Cajal‘s staining technique, still in use, is called
Cajal‘s Stain. Both received the Nobel- Prize in physiology in 1906.
Transparency
Advertising X-rays
Poster for Philips Metallix, X-ray apparatus. (ca. 1925).
Size: 625 x 480 cm. Mounted under passepartout. Fine
condition.
EUR 1.400.Fine Poster for the first portable x-ray apparatus,
introduced by Philips in 1925. In 1917 at the Physics
Laboratory of Philips (Holland) began to repair x-ray
tubes. One year later the first Philips x-ray tube was demonstrated. From 1919 onwards small series of these
tubes were manufactured in the Nat Lab. In 1920 Albert
Bouwers (1893-1972) started to work on x-ray technology and since then, he and his group had an enormous
influence on the development and application of x-ray
technology. It was Bouwers group that developed the
first x-ray tube which is shielded for unwanted radiation. The cylindrical tube envelope consists partly of glass
and a ferrochrome alloy. The Metalix x-ray tube was
introduced in 1925.
Fractal First described –
Koch’s Snowflake
Koch, Helge von.
Sur une courbe continue sans tangente, obtenue par une construction géométrique élémentaire. Off-Print from: Arkiv for Matematik
1 (1904) pp. 681-704. Original Wrappers, near perfect, with handwritten dedication.
EUR 2.000,–
Exceedingly rare Off-Print issue of von Koch’s paper,
containing one of the earliest fractal curves described. With handwritten dedication by Koch to another
famous mathematician: Erik Ivar Fredholm. The Koch
snowflake is based on the Koch curve, which appeared
in the 1904 paper titled in English: On a continuous
curve without tangents, constructible from elementary
geometry. The mathematical roots of the idea of fractals
have been traced throughout the years as a formal path
of published works, starting in the 17th century with
notions of recursion (Leibniz), then moving through
increasingly rigorous mathematical treatment of the
concept to the study of continuous but not differentiable functions in the 19th century, and on to the coining
of the word fractal in the 20th century (Mandelbrot,
1975) with a subsequent burgeoning of interest in
fractals and computer-based modelling in the 21st
century.
It was not until two centuries had passed that in 1872
Karl Weierstrass presented the first definition of a
function with a graph that would today be considered
fractal, having the non- intuitive property of being
everywhere continuous but nowhere differentiable.
Weierstrass presented it, but it was not published in
the Monatsberichte Kgl. Akademie. Not long after
that, in 1883, Georg Cantor, who attended lectures
by Weierstrass, published examples of subsets of the
real line known as Cantor sets, which had unusual
properties and are now recognized as fractals. One of
the next milestones came in 1904, when Helge von
Koch, extending ideas of Poincaré and dissatisfied with
Weierstrass‘s abstract and analytic definition, gave a
more geometric definition including hand drawn images
of a similar function, which is now called the Koch curve
and Koch’s snowflake.
Manual for the Military Surgeons
Ortalli, Franz.
Die Eingeweide der Schädel-, Brust- und Bauchhöhle des menschlichen Körpers in normaler Lage. Zum Gebrauch für Aerzte und
Staats-Prüfungs-Adspiranten. Mit IX colorierten Tafeln, die Gegenstände in Lebensgrösse darstellend.- Mainz: bei Florian Kupferberg,
1839. (with:) Abbildungen zu Dr. Franz Ortalli’s ‚Die Eingeweide …“
IX. colorierte Tafeln.- Mainz: beim Verfasser und in Commission bei
F. Kupferberg, 1838. 8°. XX, 160 pp.; atlas: folio (570 x 490 mm)
Original front wrapper, title, dedication, 9 partly colored lithographed plates (but folded in the middle). Plates partly browned due to
paper, and used with minor defects. Contemporary half-calf and later
half calf period style.
EUR 3.000.Very rare work on the viscera by a lesser known military
surgeon from Mainz (Mayence), Franz Ortalli (1803-?)
with subscriber list, to include around 200 names of
practical medicine and military surgeons, listed geographically (towns), to include names like von Graefe, von
Wiebel (personal doctor of the prussian king), Büttner,
Giraudet (Paris), …. The work was intended for practical
use in military hospitals. The colored plates show the
internal organs of the body, especially those contained
within the abdominal and thoracic cavities, such as
the liver, heart, lungs, pancreas, intestines, stomach
et al. The lithographs are by Lehnhardt in Mainz after
drawings by E. Scharlach, H. Litfas, A. Lampert, Beringer
and A. Pfeiffer (maybe a relative of Carl Hermann
Pfeiffer (1769 -1829)) partly from natural carcasses.Engelmann 415.
Der lithographierte erklärende Text in deutscher
Sprache neben den Abbildungen ist ungewöhnlich
ausführlich, und verweist mit römischer, arabischer
und Buchstabennummerierung auf die entsprechenden
Details in den Abbildungen.
Richly Illustrated
Paracelsus (d.i. Theophrastus von Hohenheim).
Erster (- dritter) Theil Der grossen Wundartzney deß weitberhümpten / bewerten /
unnd erfahrnen / Theophrasti … Franckfurt am Mayn, bey Weygand Han und Georg
Raben, 1562. Quarto (190 x 150 mm). 12 n.n. Bl., 115 Bl.; 11 n.n. Bl., 1 w. Bl.,
129 Bl., 1 n.n. Bl.; 78 Bl., 2 Bl. (last blank) with 3 title-vignettes and 2 full-page
woodcuts. Blindstamped vellum over wooden boards, two clasps. A former owner in
the 18th cent. (Josua Buma in Zürich) had drawn extensively with ink: persons and
himself in the white borders of the pages (interesting for a psychoanalyst maybe).
Otherwise in first binding. EUR 5.000,His great work: Die große Wundarzney is a forerunner
of antisepsis. This specific empirical knowledge originated from his personal experiences as an army physician
in the Venetian wars. Reprint of the 1537 Augsburg
edition, which printed two parts. The third part is a reprint of „von der frantzösischen Kranckheit“, which was
first printed in 1533 by H. Gülfferichs. Han and Rabe
took over the reminder of the printing and used these
sheets for their reprinted edition. The title-woodcuts
show a room with ill person, the text woodcut show
instruments and the zodiac.- Sudhoff 52; VD16 P-459.
Paracelsus‘ most important legacy is likely his critique
of the scholastic methods in medicine, science and
theology. Although these faculties did not exist separate
from each other during his time, his attitudes towards
the uncritical copy of the teachings of the old Fathers
of Medicine, such as Avicenna and Averroes, without
categorically denying their obvious merits, was his
first and foremost achievement for independent and
empirical approaches to research and teaching. Much
of his theoretical work does not withstand modern
scientific thought, but his insights laid the foundation
for a more dynamic approach in the medical sciences.
His theory of medicine is based upon four pillars,
elaborated in his book Opus Paragranum (1529/30):
philosophy (knowledge of nature, that is, earth and
water), astronomy (knowledge of the cosmos and the
earth, that is, air and fire), alchemy (the whole cosmos,
that is, the knowledge of all four elements) and virtue
of the physician (indispensable for fulfilling the other
three pillars). An important contribution to medicine
was his discovery of new methods to treat wounds.
Highly critical of the medical practices of his day, for
example, Paracelsus insisted that wounds need to drain
naturally. By introducing chemistry and minerals into
the field of medicine, he initiated science as an integral
part of medicine for the first time.
Documenting Bridge Building
Collard, Auguste Hippolyte.
Pont de Bercy. Vues photographiques prises pendant l‘exécution des
travaux en 1863 et 1864.- Paris, Régnier et Dourdet, 1863-1864.
Folio (465 x 635 mm) Title with index of photographs, 1 text leaf, and
7 plates with mounted albumin photographs, nearly sheet-size (size:
mm). Contemporary black cloth, rubbed and soiled, with title on
cover. Overall a fine copy. EUR 5.500.Very rare work, a photographic survey on the construction of Pont de Bercy in Paris by Auguste Hippolyte
Collard (1812-1886). Only another copy known at
Bibliotheque Nationale Paris (actually two copies, one
collates as ours, and one has no title, but 8 mounted
photographs ?). Hippolyte- Auguste Collard (1812 - after 1885), french photographer, trained as a wood frame gilder, he then specialized in industrial imagery as
a photographer. He set up his first photography studio
in January 1856. During the Second Empire, the reign
of Napoleon III in France, he ran a photography studio
for twenty years, producing sequential photographs
of bridges, railroads, and aqueducts. The Ministry of
Agriculture, Commerce, and Public Works was his most
important and consistent patron; from 1857 to 1870
Collard photographed every bridge constructed in Paris
by the ministry. He also documented the expansion of
the railroad in France, competing with Édouard-Denis
Baldus for that commission. In 1867 Collard sold his
studio to his son.- no copy in KVK, COPAC, OCLC: only
Bibl. nationale Paris (2 copies: with 7 resp. 8 photogr.)
More Bridges
Klotzsch, August (?); photogr.
Erinnerung an den Brückenbau Loschwitz-Blasewitz 1892. (cover-title) Portfolio (305 x 235 mm) with 14 mounted photographs (ca. 225
x 165 mm) on heavy cardboard (275 x 215 mm). 9 photographs shown
the bridge and its construction, 5 photographs document the surrounding landscape. On the inner cover mounted a four page poem
(mounted as one large page): „Gedicht zum Brückenbau LoschwitzBlasewitz 1892“ by A. von Wedell. Portfolio signed in monogramm:
K.M.H. The photographs a bit faded, but overall a very fine survivor.
EUR 2.500.Exceedingly rare portfolio with photographs of the
construction the the Loschwitz suspension bridge, since
then known as „Blue Wonder“. Dresden‘s most famous
bridge was built from 1891 to 1893 according to plans
by Claus Köpcke (1831–1911) and Hans Manfred Krüger. The powerful iron construction, which connects as
a suspension bridge with a clear span of 141.5 metres
between the piers and a total length of 226 m DresdenBlasewitz and Dresden- Loschwitz, was the first bridge
of its kind on the Continent. The originally green paint
of the bridge turned blue after a short time, and thus
received the popular name of “Blue Wonder”. The
bridge is one of the most striking landmarks of Dresden.
In the 19th century it was a masterpiece of technology
to build a bridge of this length without river piers supporting it. Today its technology is less of a wonder but it
is a much-loved symbol of the city of Dresden.- KVK: no
copy could be located worldwide.
Catholic Fireworks
(Alberti, Giuseppe Antonio)
„Pirotechnia“. (cover title) Manuscript written with ink by an legiable
hand on paper with watermark. (278 x 200 mm) 90 numbered pages,
two blanks. The plates or drawn images within text. Carta rustica, title
on cover. Paper with watermark: Crown, ring with three stars within,
G.P. EUR 6.000,Early manuscript version of Giuseppe Antonio Alberti’s
La pirotechnia osia trattato dei fuochi d’artisico of
1749, „the first work in Italian to deal exclusively with
the subject of fireworks for pleasure. The book claims
to have modernised and improved the inventions of
Frézier, Hanzelet, Henrion, Ozanam and Simienowicz“
(Philip, Fireworks 3).
We think it is an early draft by the author for the printed text. The manuscript is partly a verbatim transcript
of the written text, and partly it is different. The images
correspond to the printed text, but the plate numbering
is different and some images are changed with mounted new images. At the end is a thanks to God for the
help which would be unusual if a transcript.
The text is based upon Biringuccio‘s Pirotechnica but
Biringuccio‘s emphasis was on metallurgy and melting
rather than fireworks. Alberti describes the technical
aspects of recreational fireworks, with sections on the
materials; how to construct combustibles; uses, not only
for festivals but also for street lamps resistant to wind
and water, and for illuminating and decorating theater
productions; spectacular aquatic fireworks; and special
effects, including how to form sun, moon, and star shapes. The illustrations show firework apparati, including
launching devices, air rockets, spin-wheels, bombs, etc.,
numbered to the corresponding descriptions in the text.
Giuseppe Antonio Alberti (1712-1768) was a surveyor,
architect and hydrostatic expert, and author of several
books. He had studied mathematics, especially practical
geometry and from 1756 to 1758 he worked as surveyor in Bagnacavallo, then moved to the region of Umbria,
where he worked for the last ten years of his life. He
designed and built several surveying instruments and
published several books on technical subjects ranging
from applied mathematics to civil engineering to
fireworks. - Lotz, Feuerwerk, 131. Berlin Katalog 3304.
Mazzuchelli, Scrittori d‘Italia, I, 306; Morrazzoni, Il
Libro Illustrato Veneziano del Settecento, 211.
Cave Hunting for Armchair Travellers
Stereoscopic viewer.
Les Eyzies (Dordogne) Station prehistorique de Laugerie Basse et
Grotte du Grand Roc. Unis-France Stéréoscopes - Paris 76/3) (metall
plaque on upper part of front side of the instrument). (Paris ca 1920).
Dimension of the wooden structure: 340 x 170 x 185 mm. Photographs earlier. With two lenses and one wooden turning knob.
EUR 5.000,With altogether 16 stereoscopic views of caves in the
Dordogne‘s Vézère valley which contain some of the
oldest artworks known to man. At some point in remote
prehistory, roughly 12,000 years ago, a group of men
and women – no more than half a dozen, scientists
believe – crawled into the labyrinth of Rouffignac
cavern in the Dordogne’s Vézère valley. Once in its
deepest recess, they lay on their backs and, in flickering
candlelight, started painting on the rock ceiling 3ft
above them. More than 60 images of mammoths,
horses and ibex were outlined, each animal depicted
in simple, confident lines that reveal startling artistic
talent. We have few clues as to who created it, though
it was probably the work of the Cro-Magnons, the first
members of Homo sapiens to settle in Europe 45,000
years ago and survivors of the Ice Age that later gripped
the continent. Nor do we know why these artists picked
such an inaccessible spot to display their genius –
though fortunately it can be reached easily today. In the
25 km of the Vézère valley between Montignac and Les
Eyzies there are 15 caves – including Rouffignac, Lascaux and others – which have been rated Unesco World
Heritage sites because of their prehistoric art. – For the
maker of this stereoscopic viewer cf. Mannoni, L. Le
mouvement continué. Catalogue illustré de la collection
des appareils de la Cinémathèque francaise no. 1013
(stereoscope with an identical metall plaque).
Magical Mirrors and the Louvain School
Mirami, Rafael.
Compendiosa introduttione alla prima parte della specularia, cioe
della scienza de gli specchi. Opera nova, nella quale brevemente, e
con facil modo si discorre intorno agli specchi e si rende la cagione,
di tutti i loro miracolosi effetti. [with:] Tavole della prima parte della
specularia, cioè della scienza degli specchi. 2 parts in 1.- Ferrara, heirs
of Francesco Rossi, & Paolo Tortorino, 1582. Quarto. [4] ff., 70 pp.,
[1 leaf], [12, 2 leaves], with numerous diagrams in the text; a few early
and final leaves with marginal repairs; occasional staining; a good copy
in later halfcalf, restored.
EUR 7.000,First edition of the first work entirely devoted to optical
& magical mirrors, complete with the often lacking
‚tavole’. Rafael Mirami was a Jewish Ferrarese physician
and mathematician with a special interest in mirrors,
optics, and poetry, which is reflected in the numerous
quotes from Dante, Horace, and Petrarch contained
in the book, as Mirami ‘strives to elevate the study of
mirrors from a mere mechanical art to an intellectual
science. Attempting to counteract mirrors’ association
with vanity and “lascivious use,” Mirami opens with
a chapter on the “Utilities that are drawn from the
Science of Mirrors,” in which he asserts the usefulness
of mirrors for astronomy, natural philosophy, theology,
and moral reflection’ (George W. McClure, The Culture
of Profession in Late Renaissance Italy p. 171). In
addition it contains an interesting essay on the secret
meaning of mirrors.
‘The work is divided into twenty five chapters and goes
into several aspects of reflection thoroughly. Besides its
practical applications, Mirami dealt with the technique
of mirrors construction and the issue of images which
may be true or deceptive in their deformations. There
are descriptions of the columnar and pyramidal mirrors,
the burning mirrors and the multiplication of images.
In the second part of the work, Mirami mentioned the
curious application of mirrors to create sundials in
shaded zones, anticipating the catoptrics sundials by
Athanasius Kircher and Emmanuel Maignan’ (Cristina
Càndito, Drawing and Light p. 159).
The Louvain School (Mercartor, Gogova, Gemma
Frisius, John Dee) were interested in mirrors because
they wanted to know how stars esp. star light could
influence men. Whilst the titles to both parts indicate
this to be a ‘prima parte’, no more is known to have
been published.- Riccardi I 162: „opera rara“; De Rossi,
Dizionario storico degli Autori Ebrei e delle loro opere
II p. 63; Kästner, Geschichte Mathematik II, 301; Eileen
Adair Reeves. Galileo’s Glassworks: The Telescope and
the Mirror. 36 f.; L’art ancien 1200. OCLC locates copies
at the Library of Congress, Kentucky, Brandeis, Harvard,
Michigan, Jewish Theological Seminary, Hebrew Union
College (Ohio), Burndy, and Toronto for North America;
the BL copy is the sole location of the UK.
Nature Printing
Auer von Welsbach, Alois.
Die Entdeckung des Naturselbstdruckes oder die Erfindung, von
ganzen Herbarien, Stoffen, Spitzen, Stickereien u.überhaupt allen
Originalien u. Copien, ... durch das Original selbst auf einfache u.
schnelle Weise Druckformen herzustellen, ... / Vorgelesen in d. math.
naturw. Classe d. kaiserl. Akad. d. Wiss. zu Wien von Alois Auer.(Wien: Kais.- königl. Hof- u. Staatsdr.), 1853. 8°. 16 pp. OriginalWrappers, used, bound with the 13 nature-printed plates (one printed
recto & verso) as issued one year later in: Denkschriften der kaiserlichen Akademie, vol. 5 (for 1853). Contemporary plain halfcloth,
used, the article is normally not illustrated. EUR 1.800,-
The first printing of this seminal article, which constitutes the first work on the „nature printing“ process invented by Auer, and which not only explains the process
for the first time, but which also depicts the perfection
of the technique (with the 12 magnificent plates). It
is also this article which coins the term „Naturselbstdruck“ („nature printing“) and „Originaldruck“.
The Austrian printer, inventor, and botanical illustrator,
Alois Auer (1813 - 1869) was highly regarded for his
printing skills, his typographical knowledge, and his
inventive character. In 1841 he became the director
of the Austrian State Printing House, which produced
illustrated volumes of scientific interest, and he was
widely active during the 1840s and 1850s, during
which he produced a number of interesting and impor-
tant works, the most important one being his seminal
work on the nature printing process, which was the first
work on the subject. In „The Discovery of the Nature
Printing-Process“, Auer set out to demonstrate and
explain that which he saw as a milestone in the history
of printing. By describing and depicting in detail the use
of the material itself that needed to be depicted (e.g.
rocks, wood, plant, lace) by impressing it into gum or
upon lead, he intended to produce „artistical- scientific
objects“, a technique by which one could greatly reduce
the problems and costs of producing works of natural
history. The tecnique was wisely used by botanists (such
as Ettinghausen and Pokrony) and illustrators (such as
Bradbury).
First Classification of Fireworks
Romanus, Adrianus [Adriaan van Roomen]
Pyrotechnia, hoc est, de Ignibus Festivis jocosis, artificialibus et seriis variisque
eorum structuris libri duo ex scriptoribus Latinis, Italis et Germanis collecti, &
in methodum succinctam redacti. In Gratiam eorum, qui hisce artibus iucundi
spectaculi caussa delectantur / Auctore Adriano Romano Mathematico ac Professore
Herbipolensi.- [Frankfurt am Main] in officina Paltheniana, 1611. Quarto [193 x
155 mm] [4], 71 pp., [1, blank] Later marbled paper boards, new label. Unobtrusive
browning, fine.
EUR 5.000.A lesser known and very rare work on pyrotechnics and
fireworks incl. rockets with text woodcuts by Adrianus
Romanus, mathematician of the Low Countries.
Adriaan van Roomen [Romanus] (1561-1615) studied
in Cologne and with Clavius in Rome, from about 1586
to 1592 he lectured as professor of medicine and
mathematics in Louvain, then up to 1603 at Würzburg
university. In 1598 Rudolf II. In Prague bestowed the
titles of count palatine and imperial court physician
upon him, in 1601 he stayed some time near the mathematician Viete. An important part of van Roomen’s
works dealt with mathematical subjects, especially
trigonometry and the calculation of chords in a circle.
He was also in contact with Kepler.
„A dispute with the French scholar Josephus Justus
Scaliger (1540-1609) prompted van Roomen to
publish further works. Scaliger announced in 1590
that had solved the three classic problems of squaring
the circle, trisecting an angle and duplicating the cube.
He published his ‚proofs‘ of the first two of these in
pamphlets in 1594 and in these he also claimed that
Archimedes‘ method of computing the area of a circle
is worthless. Van Roomen bought Scaliger‘s pamphlet
on squaring the circle from a book fair in Frankfurt
in the autumn of 1594. In November of that year he
wrote to Clavius saying he was astonished that Scaliger
had dared to publish such a work. He wrote to Scaliger
pointing out errors in his work and eventually Scaliger
wrote an appendix ‚correcting‘ the errors. He sent a
copy to van Roomen in March 1595. Van Roomen
decided to publish a work defending Archimedes from
Scaliger‘s attacks. Scaliger had stated that Archimedes‘
method of calculating the area of a circle was useless
since he was using an arithmetical method to solve a
geometrical problem. Van Roomen‘s response was the
three-part book In Archimedis Circuli Dimensionem
Expositio et Analysis (1597). The first part contains a
Latin translation by van Roomen of the Greek text of
Archimedes‘ On the
measurement of the
circle. In the second
part he defends
Archimedes from Scaliger‘s attack introducing a concept
he calls ‚mathesis universalis‘. Van Roomen proposes
unifying geometry and arithmetic under his concept of
‚mathesis universalis‘. The importance of these ideas
must be their influence on Descartes‘ use of algebra for
geometric problems. The third part of van Roomen‘s
1597 work, consisting of ten dialogues, points out the
errors in Scaliger‘s attempt to square the circle and
also points out the errors in the works of several other
mathematicians including Oronce Fine who had made
similar claims.” VD17 23:252456M [only Munich,
Wolfenbüttel]; DSB XI, 532-34; not in Roberts/ Trent;
not in Honeyman. COPAC: National Library Scotland,
BL London, Oxford; OCLC: Brown University, Hagley
Museum, Smithsonian, NY Public.
The Eye of the Tiger
Artificial mammalian eyes produced by Anton Greiner - Vetter, Lauscha. (no date, after 1908) Leather covered box with claps containing
100 artificial eyes for mammals, birds, reptils, etc., coming with two
advertisement resp. order pamphlets with price list in original wrappers (4 and 6 leaves). The price of the box is marked with: 50 Mark.
Box size: 355 x 310 mm; one artificial eye partly damaged, otherwise
complete as distributed.
EUR 6.000.-
Rare survivor of time. A presentation or advertisement
box with 100 artificial mammals eyes (produced around
1908) by one of the best (world-wide) producer of
artificial glass eyes around 1900. The box contains eyes
of mammals, apes, birds, reptiles and amphibians, and
eyes of fishes (like „shark’s eyes with greenish luminous
pupils“).
In the mid 19th century, glass artisans in Thuringia, a
region in eastern Germany, developed a superior glass
for-mula for the making of artificial eyes. Combined
with their techniques of blowing hollow glass objects,
the center for glass eye making moved to Germany.
The methods of making hollow kryolite glass prosthesis
are still used today in Germany and many parts of
the world. Glass eye making was introduced in the
United States in the mid 1800‘s by immigrant German
ocularists. Although the American Ocularists of this era
continued to make glass prostheses, the kryolite glass
material itself was exported from Germany. The GreinerVetter company was founded in 1853 and worked since
1867 with gas; gas-flames could produce finer and
more artificial glassware.
In the advertisement in three languages (german,
french, english) they praised themself: „More than
twenty years of experience… After long experiments
I have succeeded in imitating the eyes of mammals
with remarkable truth to nature. Enamel-corners are
used in the construction. The colouring of the iris is
exceedingly beautiful and true to nature. … Owing to
my own personal studies in Zoological Gardens and my
constant connections with the foremost expert preparators throughout the country I am well instructed on
the colour and size of the mammals, …“ He cites further
on recommandation letters by Schröder (Zoologisches
Museum Berlin), Stainsky (Colorado Spring), Grimm
(Bern), Böhler (Furtwangen).
Lauscha in Thuringa is since early times best known for
his glasblowing industry and his production of glass
baubles, which were first made by Hans Greiner (15501609) who produced garlands of glass beads and tin
figures that could be hung on trees. The popularity of
these decorations grew into the production of glass
fi-gures made by highly skilled artisans with clay molds.
In the 1880’s, american F. W. Woolworth discovered
Lauscha’s baubles during a visit to Germany. He made
a fortune by importing the German glass ornaments to
the United States.
Antiquariat
Michael Kühn
Erdmannstr. 11 · 10827 Berlin · Germany
Telefon 0049 · (0)30 · 86 39 69 34 kuehn.rarebooks@arcor.de
www.kuehn-books.de