Milestones of Science Books

THEODOSIUS TRIPOLITES; CLAVIUS, Christopher.

Theodosii Tripolitae Sphaericorum libri III ... perspicuis demonstrationibus, ac scholijs illustrati. Item eiusdem Christophori Clauii Sinus. lineae tangentes. et secantes. triangula rectilinea. atque sphaerica. Four parts in one volume.

Rome: Domenico Basa, 1586.

1st Edition. Soft cover. Very Good. Item #003020

4to (212 x 155 mm). [8], 514, [2] pp. Signatures: †⁴ A-2F⁴ 2G⁶ 2H-2R⁴ 2S⁶ 2T-3M⁴ 3N⁶ 30-3R⁴. Woodcut Jesuit trigram device with motto "Vocabis nomen eius Iesum" on title page and final leaf recto, each part with separate half-title page, woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces, numerous woodcut tables and diagrams in text. Bound in contemporary limp vellum, yapp edges, manuscript title to spine and upper/lower edges, ties gone, vellum somewhat soiled and wrinkled. Text little browned throughout, occasional minor spotting, a few old repairs to blank margins, little worming outside text area, small marginal tear to Cc, title-leaf slightly chipped at outer margin. Provenance: various ownership inscriptions to flyleaf and title-page, including 'Dionisio Monaldini, 1757' (scholar), Domenico Pasi(?); Protari(?), 1620; Giancarlo Beltrame Library. A very good copy in untouched binding. ----

Censimento 16 CNCE 31619. FIRST EDITION by Clavius of Theodosius' three books of spherics, the standard edition for the 17th and 18th centuries. Sphaericorum libri III is the chief work of Theodosius of Tripolis, first century Greek astronomer and mathematician. His treatise on the pure geometry of spherical surfaces, still the classic on that subject in Pappus' time, was first translated into Arabic in the 10th century, then into Latin by Tiburtinus in the 12th century. This edition by Clavius is the first after Thomas Finck's Liber Inspectionum (1579) that uses the words tangent and secant. The trigonometric tables in Clavius' edition agree with the tables published by Finck 3 years before, a plagiarism as Clavius does not mention (the protestant) Finck as the source at all (see De Morgan, In Philosophical Magazine, 1846, pp. 384-86). - Visit our website for additional images and information.

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