Milestones of Science Books

CAVALIERI, Bonaventura.

Geometria indivisibilibus continuorum nova quadam ratione promota. In hac postrema edictione ab erroribus expurgata.

Bologna: Clementi Ferroni, 1653.

2nd Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Item #003227

4to (228 x 164 mm). [16], 543 [1] pp., half-title, woodcut publisher's device on title, woodcut diagrams in text, historiated woodcut initials, woodcut head- and tailpieces, some mispaginations. Contemporary limp vellum, ink-lettered spine, original endpapers (head of spine frayed, vellum over upper hinge partially split, light soiling and rubbing, binding partially cracked between pp. 542/43, first flyleaf trimmed to half width). Text with some uneven browning, occasional minor spotting, small hole in title-leaf not affecting text. Provenance: Francesco Gonnella (old signature on title page extended onto paper patch which replaces former signature), further inscription dated 1711 on title verso; Tito Gonnelli (signed on front pastedown). A very good, wide-margined copy in untouched binding of its time. ----

Norman 419; Cinti 250; Honeyman 650; Riccardi I 325. RARE SECOND ENLARGED EDITION, of Cavalieri's principal work on the differential calculus. Cavalieri started to write it as early as 1626 which is known from a letter by him to Galilei. The book was first printed in 1635, but the present edition is much corrected and enlarged by pieces omitted in the 1635 edition. The expression "indivisibilia" is very old; it was used by Brad Wardine, but only through Cavalieri it gained significance. The book is divided into seven parts, Cavalieri's law on the figures and bodies is developed in the second part.
"Cavalieri's work on the use of "indivisibles" or infinitesmals . . . constitues the first textbook of what are now known as integration method. The work includes the statement of 'Cavalieri's principle' for the determination of areas and volumes, which considers an area as made up of an indefinite number of equidistant parallel line segments, and a solid as made up of an indefinite number of parallel plane areas. Cavalieri's principle provided a simple and speedy alternative to the method of exhaustion, enabling easy calculation of such problems as the area of an ellipse and the volume of a sphere" (Norman 419). Visit our website to see more images!

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