Milestones of Science Books

SCHOTT, Gaspar.

Mechanica Hydraulico-Pneumatica: Qua Praeterquam quod Aquei Elementi natura, proprietas, vis motrix, atque occultus cum aere conflictus, a primis fundamentis demonstratur; . . . Opus Bipartitum . . . Accessit Experimentum novum Magdeburgicum, quo vacuum alii stabilire, alii evertere conantur.

Würzburg: Pigrin für Schönwetter, 1657.

1st Edition. Hardcover. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. Very Good. Item #003413

4to (205 x 166 mm). [28], 488, [16] pp. Letterpress title (dated 1658) and additional engraved title, woodcut coat of arms of Jean Philippe de Schönborn, prince-bishop of Würzburg, on verso of title, initials, head- and tailpieces, 45 engraved plates (8 folding), numerous woodcut illustrations. Bound without the half-title. Contemporary French calf, spine with 5 raised bands richly gilt in compartments and with new gilt-lettered morocco spine label, sprinkled edges, untouched original endpapers (boards scratched, extremities rubbed, corners bumped and worn, minor worming at foot of spine). Text and plates somewhat browned, occasional minor spotting, title leaves with vertical crease, small wormtrack at gutter of final pages and lower blank margin of first gatherings, some wrongly numbered plates corrected in old manuscript. ----

Norman 1910; Dünnhaupt, S. 3811, 3; RISM B VI/2, 771; Eitner IX 66 f; De Backer/S. VII, 904; Poggendorff II, 838; Wheeler Gift I, 142; DSB 12, 210 FIRST EDITION of the first book by the Jesuit Gaspar Schott, a pupil of Athanasius Kircher. The first part is theoretical while the second part explodes into an extraordinary catalogue of machines illustrated by engraving and woodcut. 'Schott first published what had originally been intended as a brief guide to the hydraulic and pneumatic instruments in Kircher's Roman museum, expanding it into the first version of his Mechanica hydraulico-pneumatica. But he added as an appendix a detailed account of Guericke's experiments on vacuums, the earliest published report of this work' (DSB). - Visit our website to see more images!

Price: 2,600 €  *  convert currency