Details
OUGHTRED, William (1575-1660). Arithmeticae in numeris et speciebus institutio: quae tum logisticae, tum analyticae, atque adeo totius mathematicae, quasi clavis est. London: Thomas Harper, 1631.
8o (154 x 101 mm). Woodcut diagrams in text. (Some pale dampstaining.) 17th-century limp vellum. Provenance: a few early marginalia.
VERY RARE FIRST EDITION OF OUGHTRED'S BEST-KNOWN WORK. The Clavis mathematicae "exerted considerable influence in England and on the Continent and immediately established him as a capable mathematician. Both Boyle and Newton held a very high opinion of the work" (DSB). It contained almost all that was then known about arithmetic and algebra, and introduced a number of mathematical symbols: the most important being the "x" for multiplication and "::" to indicate proportion. An English translation was published by Edmond Halley in 1694. Oughtred's name is also important in mathematics as the inventor of the slide-rule. STC 18898; Norman 1621.
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VERY RARE FIRST EDITION OF OUGHTRED'S BEST-KNOWN WORK. The Clavis mathematicae "exerted considerable influence in England and on the Continent and immediately established him as a capable mathematician. Both Boyle and Newton held a very high opinion of the work" (DSB). It contained almost all that was then known about arithmetic and algebra, and introduced a number of mathematical symbols: the most important being the "x" for multiplication and "::" to indicate proportion. An English translation was published by Edmond Halley in 1694. Oughtred's name is also important in mathematics as the inventor of the slide-rule. STC 18898; Norman 1621.