The Honeyman-Tomash copy

STIFEL, Michael.

Deutsche Arithmetica. Inhaltend. Die Haussrechnung, Deutsche Coss, Kirchenrechnung.

Nürnberg: Johann Petreius, 1545.

1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Item #003078

4to (210 x 151 mm). [4], 92 leaves. Signatures: A-Z⁴ Aa⁴. Gothic letter, title and a few pages printed in red and black, decorative woodcut initials, woodcuts of abacus reckoning in text. 20th-century three-quarter red morocco over marbled boards, spine with raised bands, gilt lettering and some gilt decoration, new marbled endpapers. Text with little uneven browning, very minor occasional spotting, small repair to f.77 verso, but generally a very clean and crisp copy. Provenance: Horace, Baron de Landau (bookplate to front pastedown); Professor H.R. Robinson (1889-1955); Robert B. Honeyman (bookplate to front pastedown); Dr. Paul C. Martin; Erwin Tomash (bookplate to front pastedown, copy obtained from Bernard Quaritch, London, 1993). ----

Tomash & Williams S191 (this copy); Honeyman 2913 (this copy); Smith, Rara arithmetica, pp.231-232; Adams S 1866; DSB XIII, p.59 USTC 635732; VD16 S9007. - RARE FIRST EDITION. This work is "divided into three sections: the first on arithmetic using the table abacus, the second to Coss (algebra) and the last to the church calendar. While a useful book to three different groups, its main attribute seems to be that it substituted German words for foreign words and phrases - mainly in the section on algebra" (Tomash & Williams). "In Deutsche arithmetica, Stifel sought to make... the coss (algebra) or 'artful calculation' more accessible to German readers by eliminating foreign words" (DSB).
"Michael Stifel was a monk in Esslingen who, because he disagreed with the sale of indulgences, became an early follower of Luther. In 1522, to avoid persecution for his beliefs, he made his way to Wittenberg, where he lodged in Luther's home. Luther managed to find him a post as a pastor, but Stifel's cabalistic leanings soon got him into trouble, and he had to move several times before finally enrolling as a mathematics student at the University of Wittenberg. His teacher, Jacob Milich, urged him to assemble all the information he could on earlier mathematical writings. The result was his Arithmetia integra, [published one year before]. For many years, this and Stifel's other mathematical works, were overshadowed by his own view that the most important thing he had done was to produce schemes for cabalism and prognostication. He is now generally appreciated as the most important German mathematician of his century." (Tomash & Williams S190).
Seltene erste Ausgabe des volksnahen, deutschsprachigen Rechenbuches. Behandelt neben der einfachen Rechnung für alle Haushalte (Tl. 1, Rechenpfennige, schriftl. Rechnen, Regula Detri, Bruchrechnung) und der für Laien komplizierten Kalenderrechnung (Tl. 3) im zweiten Abschnitt vor allem die "Coss", die Algebra - eine der ersten umfassenden Darstellungen dieses Themas in deutscher Sprache mit Bezügen auf Adam Riese u. C. Rudolff. - Schöner Nürnberger Druck, durch zahlreiche Rechenpfennig-Beispiele aufgelockert.

Price: 12,000 €  *  convert currency