- 150
Blaeu, Willem
Estimate
6,000 - 8,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- Blaeu, Willem
- Institutio astronomica de usu globorum & sphaerarum caelestium ac terrestrium: duabus partibus adornata, una, secundum hypothesin Ptolemaei, per terram quiescentem. Altera, juxta mentem N. Copernici, per terram mobilem. Amsterdam: Willem Blaeu, 1634
- Paper
8vo (182 x 112mm.), woodcut printer's device on title-page, woodcut initials and diagrams, contemporary vellum, without final blank, lightly browned, title-leaf repaired at foot, D2 repaired at foredge, binding slightly soiled
Literature
Houzeau & Lancaster 9714
Condition
Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
Rare first Latin edition (the Dutch original was first published in the same year); the last copy of this edition to appear at auction was the Honeyman copy in 1978 (sale in these rooms, 31 October 1978, lot 339). It was translated into English as "A tutor to astronomy and geography, or, An easie and speedy way to understand both the globes", and gave accounts of the opposing Ptolemaic and Copernican systems of the planets, as Blaeu thought the Ptolemaic system was still a useful introduction to the topic. Blaeu had worked on the island of Hven with Tycho Brahe and was a firm adherent to the Copernican system.
It should be remembered that Galileo was condemned for his Copernican stance just the previous year, but Blaeu, publishing his works in the Protestant Netherlands, was not subject to the prohibitions of the Roman Catholic authorities.
It should be remembered that Galileo was condemned for his Copernican stance just the previous year, but Blaeu, publishing his works in the Protestant Netherlands, was not subject to the prohibitions of the Roman Catholic authorities.