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A EUROPEAN COLLECTOR
EUCLID. Elementa geometria [translated by Adelard of Bath, edited by Campanus of Novara]. Venice: Erhardt Ratdolt, 25 May 1482.
細節
EUCLID. Elementa geometria [translated by Adelard of Bath, edited by Campanus of Novara]. Venice: Erhardt Ratdolt, 25 May 1482.
Chancery folio, 302 x 210 mm. (11 7/8 x 8 5/16 in.), nineteenth-century dark blue straight-grained morocco, covers panelled in gilt with roll-tooled palmette border edged by triple gilt fillets and a floral roll-tool in blind, small gilt flower tools at inner corners, framing a large gold-tooled diamond overlaying a rectangle, with large blind-stamped fleurons at corners of rectangle on lower cover only, spine gilt and gilt-lettered in 5 compartments with 4 flat raised bands, board edges and turn-ins gilt, g.e., by R. Storr of Grantham, binder's ticket on lower pastedown, slight rubbing to joints and extremities, a few light scratches to covers, short crack to upper inner hinge, purple morocco felt-lined folding box, matching slipcase, lacking final blank, first leaf with neatly repaired 4-inch tear and lower fore-corner torn away, slight marginal soiling to first few leaves, small dampstains to fore- and upper margins of a few leaves and last leaf, light foxing to 5 or 6 leaves.
Collation: a10 b-r8. 137 leaves (of (138, lacking final blank). Variant settings conform to GW main entry. Types: 3:91G (text), 7:92G (preface and propositions), 7B:100R (headlines), 6:56G (diagram lettering). 45 lines and headline. Heading on a2r red-printed, three-quarter white-on-black branch-and foliage woodcut border on a2r (Redgrave border 3), possibly by Bernhard Maler, 15 11-line and numerous 5-line white-on-black woodcut initials, over 500 marginal woodcut and type-rule diagrams. Offsetting from printer's sheets on fols. b8-c1 and h1.
FIRST EDITION of "the oldest mathematical textbook still in common use today" (PMM) and one of the earliest printed books with geometrical figures. The text is the standard late medieval recension of Campanus of Novara, based on the twelfth-century translation from the Arabic by Adelard of Bath. Ratdolt's method of printing diagrams to illustrate a mathematical text and his finely printed astronomical books became the models for subsequent scientific publishing. AN EXCELLENT COPY.
HC 66793*; GW 9428; Pr 4383*; BMC V (285); Oates 1748-9; Klebs 383.1; Essling 282; PMM 25; Sander 2605; Stillwell Science 163; Charles Thomas-Stanford, Early editions of Euclid's Elements (London 1926), 1a; G. R. Redgrave, Erhard Ratdolt and his work at Venice (London 1894) 26; Goff E-113.
Provenance: Sir John Hayford Thorold, Syston Park and monogrammed bookplates (sale, Sotheby's, 14 December 1884, lot 755, to Sotheran) -- William Henry Smith, armorial bookplate (sale, Philadelphia, Thomas, 28 April 1884) -- C. E. Kenney, shelfmark label (sale, Sotheby's, 29 March 1966, lot 1751, 2400, Charles Traylen).
Chancery folio, 302 x 210 mm. (11 7/8 x 8 5/16 in.), nineteenth-century dark blue straight-grained morocco, covers panelled in gilt with roll-tooled palmette border edged by triple gilt fillets and a floral roll-tool in blind, small gilt flower tools at inner corners, framing a large gold-tooled diamond overlaying a rectangle, with large blind-stamped fleurons at corners of rectangle on lower cover only, spine gilt and gilt-lettered in 5 compartments with 4 flat raised bands, board edges and turn-ins gilt, g.e., by R. Storr of Grantham, binder's ticket on lower pastedown, slight rubbing to joints and extremities, a few light scratches to covers, short crack to upper inner hinge, purple morocco felt-lined folding box, matching slipcase, lacking final blank, first leaf with neatly repaired 4-inch tear and lower fore-corner torn away, slight marginal soiling to first few leaves, small dampstains to fore- and upper margins of a few leaves and last leaf, light foxing to 5 or 6 leaves.
Collation: a10 b-r8. 137 leaves (of (138, lacking final blank). Variant settings conform to GW main entry. Types: 3:91G (text), 7:92G (preface and propositions), 7B:100R (headlines), 6:56G (diagram lettering). 45 lines and headline. Heading on a2r red-printed, three-quarter white-on-black branch-and foliage woodcut border on a2r (Redgrave border 3), possibly by Bernhard Maler, 15 11-line and numerous 5-line white-on-black woodcut initials, over 500 marginal woodcut and type-rule diagrams. Offsetting from printer's sheets on fols. b8-c1 and h1.
FIRST EDITION of "the oldest mathematical textbook still in common use today" (PMM) and one of the earliest printed books with geometrical figures. The text is the standard late medieval recension of Campanus of Novara, based on the twelfth-century translation from the Arabic by Adelard of Bath. Ratdolt's method of printing diagrams to illustrate a mathematical text and his finely printed astronomical books became the models for subsequent scientific publishing. AN EXCELLENT COPY.
HC 66793*; GW 9428; Pr 4383*; BMC V (285); Oates 1748-9; Klebs 383.1; Essling 282; PMM 25; Sander 2605; Stillwell Science 163; Charles Thomas-Stanford, Early editions of Euclid's Elements (London 1926), 1a; G. R. Redgrave, Erhard Ratdolt and his work at Venice (London 1894) 26; Goff E-113.
Provenance: Sir John Hayford Thorold, Syston Park and monogrammed bookplates (sale, Sotheby's, 14 December 1884, lot 755, to Sotheran) -- William Henry Smith, armorial bookplate (sale, Philadelphia, Thomas, 28 April 1884) -- C. E. Kenney, shelfmark label (sale, Sotheby's, 29 March 1966, lot 1751, 2400, Charles Traylen).