Milestones of Science Books

MEERMAN, Gerard.

Specimen calculi fluxionalis, quo exhibetur generalis methodus duarum pluriumve quantitatum variabilium. Accedunt alia quaedam miscellanea.

Leiden / The Hague: Daniel Goetval / Antonius de Groot, 1742.

1st Edition. Hardcover. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. Very Good. Item #003606

4to (260 x 205 mm). [16], 95 [1] pp. Title page with woodcut device, woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces. Contemporary sprinkled calf, spine with 6 raised bands and gilt decoration, marbled endpapers and edges (spine rubbed and with label gone, joints cracked at foot and head, extremities rubbed, minor wear to corners). Text somewhat browned, minor foxing (stronger to title and preliminary pages). Still very good, wide-margined copy. ----

See Macclesfield sale, Sothebys lot no. 2251. RARE FIRST EDITION of this textbook on infinitesimal calculus by Gerard Meerman (1722-1771), Dutch scholar, author and famous book collector, and son of Johan Meerman, director of the Dutch East India Company. Gerard Meerman studied law at Leiden University until 1741. Since then he has been busy with literary work despite numerous deals that have kept him busy. From 1744 to 1747 he undertook extensive journeys through Europe, met scholars and lawyers and visited libraries. On his return in 1748 he was appointed council pensioner of Rotterdam. He held this position with a colleague until 1753 and alone until 1766, in which year he resigned for health reasons. In 1757 he had been sent to England as ambassador to settle some differences that had arisen between that power and Holland. As a result, Emperor Joseph II granted him the title of Baron of the Holy German Empire. From 1766 Meerman was a councilor to the great chamber of commerce. He was a great book lover and owned one of the most important libraries of his time. Among other things, he conducted research into the origin of book printing (Wikisource). - Visit our website to see more images!

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