Search Results: Horblit - 100 Books famous in Science from Milestones of Science Books

Braunschweig: Verlag Friedrich Vieweg u. Sohn, 1837. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. 8vo (208x130 mm). [4], 72 pp., 2 folding copper engraved plates, 1 lithogr. plate and 2 folding charts. Contemporary three-quarter calf, label to spine (rubbing, chafing, spine-ends frayed), light brown-staining to plates and charts, backing to inner margin of 1 chart, 1 chart with tear to inner margin. ---- Horblit 67, Dibner 46, Paolini 237 - First edition of one of the first separately published treatises by Liebig. This copy with the rare additional folded table intended to be used as a wallchart backed by cardboard. "Important publication of the constitution of organic compounds, with description in detail of the modern method of chemical analysis" (Horblit). "His insistence that chemistry could be applied to agriculture marks the beginning of the practical applications of chemistry which dominated his life" (Dibner).

Basel: Johann Rudolph & Emanuel Thurneisen, 1713. 1st Edition. Soft cover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Soft cover. 4to (210 x 170 mm). [4], 35 [1], 306 pp. Woodcut title device, woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces, woodcut diagrams in text, 1 folding plate with woodcut diagrams and 2 folding letterpress tables. Signatures: [pi]2 a-d4 e2, A-2P4 2Q2. Final section on tennis and errata bound-in at front. All pages uncut. Contemporary carta rustica, brown marbled paper spine, hand-lettered paper spine label, original untouched endpapers (slight chipping of spine label, short tear to lower cover, a little chipping at lower joint, minor dust-soiling to cover and paper edges). Minor even browning of text and woodcut plate, lower blank corner of leaf c2 torn, light pale dampstaining to lower corner of first 8 leaves and a few leaves elsewhere, occasional very minor spotting, small wormtrack at upper blank margin of first 5 leaves. Provenance: small sticker of bookseller H. Th. Wenner, Osnabrück at rear… Read More

Heidelberg: Gotthard Vögelin, 1609. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Folio - over 12 - 15" tall. Folio (388 x 250 mm). Work in five parts, each with separate half-title page, but continuous pagination and signatures. Text in Latin with small sections in Greek. [40], 337, [3] pp., folding letterpress table, woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces, approx. 300 woodcut diagrams in text, complete with first and final blanks. Signatures: π2 (2*-4*)6 (A-2D)6 2E8 π1 and 2E8 blanks). Recased in early 18th century vellum, new endpapers, brown-dyed edges (vellum soiled). Text mostly heavily browned, tiny holes in leaves O6 and P1 with loss of a few letters of text, repaired tear in leaf T1 without loss, a few wormholes at gutter (sometimes touching text), burn hole in leaf S6. Provenance: "Pertinet ad Bibliothecam [--]", obscured inscription on title-page. Although heavily browned as usual, a very good and wide-margined copy. ---- FIRST EDITION, AND EXCEPTIONALLY RARE, of… Read More

London: Peter Short, 1600. 1st Edition. Soft cover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Soft cover. Folio (278 x 190 mm). [16], 240 pp. Signatures: *8, A-V6. Woodcut title device and large woodcut arms on verso, one folding plate facing p. 200, 87 woodcuts in text of which 4 full-page, decorative woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces. In its original contemporary limp vellum binding, leather ties mostly preserved, original endpapers, sprinkled edges (vellum repaired including torn vellum over spine and added endbands, vellum dust soiled and spotted). Housed in custom-made half morocco over cloth cassette. Little even browning throughout, occasional minor mostly marginal brown spotting, faint dampstaining to upper outer corner in places, final two gatherings with pale dampstain to blank fore-margin, minor dust soiling to outer margins. Provenance: Gilbournd (early ownership signature on title); 18th century manuscript notes in English about this work to final free endpaper; Christie's sale 6950, London, 5 July… Read More

Rome: Ex Typographia Angeli Bernabò, 1680. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. 1st Edition. Hardcover. De motu animalium. Opus posthumum. 2 volumes. Romae, Ex Typographia Angeli Bernabò, 1680-81. 4to (22.2x15.4cm). Vol. I, 1680: (xii), 376, (12) pp., 14 folding plates; Vol. II, 1681: (iv), 520 pp., 4 folding plates. Woodcut device on titles. The 4 plates in vol. 2 reinforced at outer edge, some foxing and light browning, later vellum with gilt spines. Text block of vol. 1 about 5 mm larger than vol. 2. ---- Horblit 13; Garrison-Morton 762; Dibner 190; Norman 270; Parkinson, Breakthroughs, 1680; Lefanu, Notable medical books, pp. 90-91; Roberts & Trent, Bibliotheca mechanica, pp. 42-43; Fulton, History of physiology, pp. 220-222. - First edition. The foundation work on animal motion. Published in the year of his death, Borelli's treatise presented the application of mechanics to the motion of the limbs of animals based largely on Galileo's mechanics. He began with the center of motion, the muscle,… Read More

Basel: Froben & Episcopius, 1546. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Folio - over 12 - 15" tall. De ortu et causis subterraneorum lib. V. De natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra lib. IIII. De natura fossilium lib. X. De ueteribus & nouis metallis lib. II. Bermannus, siue De re metallica Dialogus. Interpretatio Germanica uocum rei metallicae, addito Indice foecundissimo.etc. Folio (315 x 205 mm). 487 pp., 26 nn leaves, 2 printers devices, 1 full-page woodcut and 23 woodcut initials. Later three-quarter calf, some wear and cracking to spine and boards, title with few ink spots to lower margin; text somewhat browned. A clean, broad-margined copy. --- Adams A 345. Sparrow 3. Honeyman 25. Horblit 2a, Norman 19, Hoover 14, PMM 79 (c.f). - FIRST EDITION OF THE "FIRST HANDBOOK OF MODERN SYSTEMATIC MINERALOGY," De natura fossilium, the third of five treatises in the present work (Horblit). Also included here are the first published work on physical geology (De… Read More

Braunschweig: Vieweg, 1863. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. 8vo (216x139 mm). xi, 600 pp. Contemporary half calf over marbled boards, spine gilt, inner hinges cracked but firm; interior slightly foxed, dedication inscription in ink to first flyleaf. ---- Garrison-Morton 1562; Horblit 49a; Norman 1044. - First Edition. "This exhaustive study of acoustics ranks as one of the greatest books on the subject and shows that Helmholtz was, besides being a great physicist and physician, an accomplished musician" (Garrison-Morton). Helmholtz's resonance theory of hearing, expounded in this work, remained unchallenged for decades. Helmholtz also explained that differences in timbre result from differences in upper partial tones, which depend in turn on how the fundamental is produced., and he applied this observation to music theory to explain that consonance and dissonance are produced by more or less coincident upper… Read More

Leipzig: Veit, 1901. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 1901-03. 2 Vols., large 8vo (240x164 mm). xii, 648; xiv, 752 pp., many text illustr., 12 chromolithographed plates. Title with stamp and signature of former owner, vol. 2 somewhat foxed. Contemporary half calfs with gilt spines, slightly rubbed. Vol. 1 with red colored edges. Joint of vol. 2 front cover repaired, inner joint of back cover loosened, flyleaves renewed. Internally sound and clean. A beautiful set. ---- Dibner 36; Sparrow 194; Garrison-Morton 240; Horblit 73b; Norman 2169; Heirs of Hippocrates 1094. - FIRST EDITION. De Vries began an intensive study of Oenothera lamarckiana, a species of evening primrose, in 1886, after noticing a number of variants of the species. During his studies new forms appeared, and de Vries was able to formulate his Laws of Mutation, suggesting that new species developed through a series of small, random, and not necessarily useful changes ("mutations" or "saltations"). His theory… Read More

Leipzig and Vienna: Franz Deuticke, 1900. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 8vo (225 x 146 mm). [4], 371, [5] pp., a few text diagrams. Bound in contemporary black calico with blindstamped boards and gilt-lettered spine (joints expertly repaired, calico over lower joint partially split, corners bumped). Text bright and clean throughout, lower corner of first leaves slightly bumped, light marginal finger-soiling of title-page, clean tear at foot of p. 141/2 without loss. A very good copy. ---- FIRST EDITION of The Interpretation of Dreams, Freud's greatest single work and the foundation of psychoanalysis. Freud's first major work on psychology, Die Traumdeutung contains "all the basic components of psychoanalytic theory and practice" (PMM): displacement, regression, the libido, Oedipal impulses and the erotic nature of dreams. "Freud gave an unprecedented precision and force to the idea of the essential similarities of normal and abnormal behaviour, opening up the door to… Read More

Leipzig and Vienna: Franz Deuticke, 1900. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 8vo (230 x 152 mm). [4], 371, [5] pp., a few text diagrams. Contemporary dark-blue cloth with the original upper and lower printed wrapper bound in, spine lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers (spine ends and extremities slightly rubbed, lower corners bumped). Lower- and fore-edge uncut, all pages expertly opened. Text very little age-toned only, short tear to blank fore-margin of p. 195/6. Provenance: Löwis? (inscribed in pencil on final free endpaper), short manuscript entry on title verso. An exceptional copy, clean and bright troughout and with the rare printed wrappers present. ---- FIRST EDITION of The Interpretation of Dreams, Freud's greatest single work and the foundation of psychoanalysis. Freud's first major work on psychology, Die Traumdeutung contains "all the basic components of psychoanalytic theory and practice" (PMM): displacement, regression, the libido, Oedipal impulses and the… Read More

Florence: All'Insegna della Stella, 1668. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. 4to (239 x 174 mm). [6], 128 pp. Half-title, title-page printed in red and black and with engraved vignette of the Accademia della Crusca, leaf with proverb in Arabic type, 28 numbered engraved plates (3 double page), 10 full-page unnumbered and 2 smaller illustrations within text pagination. Without the blank leaf. Contemporary vellum, spine titled in script (rebacked with original portion of spine laid down, little worming to hinges and boards, little soiling), yapp edges, endpapers renewed. Internally only little browned, some minor spotting in places, final leaf with repair to inner blank margin. A handsome, wide-margined copy. ---- Dibner 188; Horblit 88; Norman 1812; NLM/Krivatsy 9448; Nissen ZBI 3319. - FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE without additional plate 29. Because it appears in relatively few copies, the plate may have been added as an… Read More

Paris: Gogue & Nee de la Rochelle, 1784. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. (192x120 mm). [8], 236 pp. Half-title, 8 folding engraved plates by Sellier after Fossier. Contemporary quarter calf, spine gilt. Somewhat browned and foxed, half title stronger). ---- Dibner 92; Horblit 47; Sparrow 93; Norman 1021-1022, Ward & Carozzi, Geology Emerging, 1984: no. 1020; Wilson, History of Mineral Collecting, 1994: 53-6. - FIRST EDITION of the work that laid the foundation for the mathematical theory of crystal structure. Often thought of as the founder of crystallography, Hauy proposed the idea of the crystal molecule and recognized that, based on the discontinuity principle, there are limited varieties of a crystal species. (Dibner). Haüy's first printed book, this work was instrumental in establishing a solid foundation on which modern theories of crystal structure rest. In it, Haüy brought together the advances in crystallography made by Romé de l'Isle, Bergman and others… Read More

London: J. Johnson, 1774. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 1774-1777. 8vo (228 x 140 mm). 6 engraved plates including frontispiece to each volume (3 plates folding). Vol. I with half-title, 2 unnumbered leaves with 1 p. errata and 3 pp. adverts at rear; vol. II and III with 1 p. errata, index and 2 advert leaves at rear. [2], xxiii, [5], 324, [4]; xliv, 399, [21]; xxxiv, [6], 411, [13] pp. Publisher's uniform paper-backed drab boards, all edges uncut (vol. III partly unopened), spines with hand-lettered paper label added by early owner (some fraying and chipping with some loss of paper over spines and boards, minor dust-soiling and spotting, corners of vol. II bumped). Internally quite crisp and clean throughout with occasional very minor spotting and browning of paper, little fraying and dust-soiling to outer margins, dog-earing in places; vol. I with small pale brown stain near outer corners, light offsetting from face-to-face folding of frontispiece, errata corrected in… Read More

London / Birmingham: J. Johnson, 1775. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air [volumes I-III]. Experiments and Observations relating to Various Branches of Natural Philosophy; with a Continuation of the Observations on Air [volumes IV-VI, with, at the end of volume I] Philosophical Empiricism: containing Remarks on a Charge of Plagiarism respecting Dr. H--s, interspersed with Various Observations relating to Different Kinds of Air. London: J. Johnson [volumes I-IV]. Birmingham: J. Johnson [volumes V & VI], 1775-86. 8vo. (21x13cm). 6 engraved plates, 5 folding, advertisement leaves at the end of each volume (but lacking after Philosophical Empiricism), half-title in volume I, with the final blank in volumes IV-VI. Contemporary calf, expertly rebacked. Provenance: Sotheby's, Important Medical Books from the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh, Sale Oct. 27, 1969. ---- Cole 1082. I. cf.Dibner 40;… Read More

London: for P. Elmsly and H. Payne, 1779. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. 8vo (207 x 122 mm). lxviii, 302, [18] pp. Engraved folding plate (some offsetting of text onto). (Lightly browned, some spotting.) Contemporary half calf over marbled boards, spine with gilt-lettered label (heavy chipping toward spine ends and extremities, corners scuffed, boards rubbed, joints split but holding firm). Text little browned only, occasional minor spotting. Provenance: Rothamsted, Lawes Agricultural Trust collection. Very good copy internally. ---- Dibner 29; Henrey 866; Grolier/Horblit 55; Norman 1141; DSB VII, p.12-13; Garrison-Morton 103; Wellcome III, p. 329. - FIRST EDITION. Ingen-Housz's work on photosynthesis is thought to have been stimulated by Joseph Priestley's (1733-1804) Observations on different kinds of air (1772) in which he outlined the discovery that growing plants "restored" air depleted by combustion… Read More

Paris: Herissant und Barrois, 1789. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. 8vo (203x125 mm). [24], lxxii, 498, [2] pp. Errata on final leaf. Contemporary French mottled sheep, spine with 5 raised bands richly gilt in compartments, marbled endpapers (top of spine little chipped, light wear to extremities, boards bowed slightly outwards), marbled endpapers. Text little age-toned, very little occasional foxing. A nice, clean and unmarked copy. ---- Horblit 68b; Norman 1194; Hunt 703; Stafleu TL2 3468. See also Morton, History of Botanical Science, pp.311-3 and Stafleu, Linnaeus and the Linnaeans, pp.321-2. - FIRST EDITION OF A LANDMARK IN THE HISTORY OF BOTANY. In this "revolutionary work" (Hunt) A. L. de Jussieu (1748--1836) set up a complete natural vegetable system, which superseded Linnaeus' classification and became the starting-point for all subsequent systematic improvements.

Leipzig: E A. Brockhaus for Wilhelm Engelmann, 1842. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 1842-1843. 8vo (210 x 130 mm). [i-xi] xii-xxvi, [1] 2-289 [3]; [i-v] vi-xvii, [1] 2-564 pp., including half-titles, errata leaf at end of vol. I, pp. 225-240 misbound after p.272 in vol. I, errata on pp. [559]-564 in vol. II. Contemporary half cloth over marbled boards, spine lettered in gilt (head of spine chipped, extremities little rubbed and chipped, upper inner hinge cracked, corners bumped, front endpaper repaired, binding somewhat weak, tape residue to boards). Light browning and occasional minor spotting of text, some dog-earing and creasing to lower corner, little staining of second half title from formerly inserted pressed plant. Provenance: Botanische Staatssammlung München (library stamps to front flyleaf, half-title and some text pages, shelf mark in pencil to half-title). Still very good copy. Collated complete. ---- Dibner 31; Horblit 93b; Sparrow 177; Norman 1908;… Read More

Edinburgh / London: William Creech / Cadell and Davies, 1802. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. 8vo (210 x 130 mm). xx, 528 pp. Contemporary calf, rebacked with the original spine preserved, red morocco lettering piece. Text little age toned, occasional very minor spotting, brown offsetting from silk bookmark to pp. 411/12. Provenance: Cranstoun of Corehouse (armorial bookplate to front pastedown). A very good, clean copy. ---- Horblit 52b; Norman 1717. FIRST EDITION. Landmark book in the development of the science of geology. "Playfair, a professor of mathematics at the University of Edinburgh and a friend of James Hutton, revised Hutton's Theory of the Earth to present his case more precisely, with additional evidence and without Hutton's religious ideas. Although Playfair's primary works were in mathematics and physics, he added substantially to the sum of geological knowledge of his time." (Norman). - Visit our website to see more images!

Manchester: Printed by S. Russell, 125, Deangate, for R. Bickerstaff, Strand, 1808. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. A New System of Chemical Philosophy. Part I. ... [Part II.]. Manchester: S. Russell for R. Bickerstaff, 1808 [vol. 1, part I]; Russell and Allen for R. Bickerstaff, 1810 [vol. 1, part II]. 8vo (204 x 125 mm), viii, [2], 220 pp., with four leaves of plates; [8], 221-560 pp., with four leaves of plates. Contemporary quarter calf (hinges repaired, some wear to spine ends, rubbed), internally little browned, occasional light spotting and staining. A very good copy. ---- Dibner 44; Horblit 22; PMM 26; Sparrow 47. - First edition of the two parts of the first volume (the second volume was published 17 years later in 1827). While the idea that all matter is composed of singular, indestructible particles goes back to speculative philosophers and scientists (Democritus and Lucretius among the ancients, Newton among the moderns), the great exposition of such a theory… Read More

New Haven: Published by the Academy, 1874. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 1874-78. 8vo (227 x 143 mm). Entire volume: xi [1], 529 [1] pp., including 60 photo-lithographed plates and errata on final unnumbered page. Contemporary half sheepskin over marbled boards, spine blind-ruled and lettered in gilt, red-sprinkled edges (extremities rubbed, traces of white paint on spine). Text with light browning mostly to outer margins, otherwise crisp and clean throughout. Provenance: William North Rice* (1845-1928) (signature on front free endpaper and ink stamp on first page of contents dated 23 May 1938); Wesleyan College (library bookplate on front paste-down). Very good+ copy. ---- VERY RARE FIRST EDITION, in the complete journal volume, of Gibbs' epoch-making work which can be regarded "A foundation treatise on physical chemistry, the interpretation of chemical processes by application of thermodynamics and mathematics" (Horblit 40). Here, "Gibbs showed by the use of… Read More