- 16
APIANUS, INSTRUMENTUM PRIMI MOBILIS, NUREMBERG, 1534
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- Instrumentum primi mobilis, nunc primum et inventum et in lucem editum. Accedunt iis Gebri filii Affla Hispaliensis astronomi vetustissimi pariter et peritissimi, libri IX. De astronomia, ante aliquot secula arabice scripti, et Latinitate donati, nunc vero omnium primum in lucem editi. Accedunt iis Gebri filii Affla Hispalensis astronomi vetustissimi pariter & peritissimi, libri IX de astronomia, ante aliquot secula Arabice scripti, & per Girardum Cremonensem latinitate donati, nunc vero omnium primum in lucem editi. Nuremberg: Johannes Petreius, 1534
FIRST EDITION, Folio (316 x 206mm.), title printed in red and black with large woodcut vignette, full-page woodcut coat of arms, woodcut diagrams, tables, without final blank leaf, recent morocco-backed cloth
Provenance
Zisska & Kistner, Auktion 21/I, 20-21 April 1993, lot 1066, Erwin Tomash
Literature
Tomash & Williams A84, J1; USTC 666902; VD16 A3087, J8
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
Apianus’s work marked a major advance in trigonometry: “In this volume Apian published a table of sines that, for the first time, was based on a circle with a radius of a power of ten, in this case one hundred thousand. The values of the functions were thus decimal and were easily adapted to any situation in which the defining circle was a decimal power” (Tomash & Williams). The book also contains the earliest printing of Geber’s De Astronomia, a reworking of Ptolemy’s Almagest, but differing in the positioning of Venus and Mercury in relation to the sun, Geber contradicting Ptolemy by placing them above. Its most important influence was in the realm of spherical trigonometry.