DIGGES, A GEOMETRICAL PRACTISE, NAMED PANTOMETRIA, LONDON, 1571, LATER HALF CALF

4to (182 x 140mm.), woodcut illustration on title-page (partly coloured), woodcut armorial on verso of title-page and on final recto, woodcut initials and headpieces, woodcut illustrations and diagrams (with a cancel slip for one of the woodcuts on T2v tipped into the gutter, the slip containing a dodecahedron to replace the printed octahedron), woodcut printer's device at end, later half calf over older marbled boards, title-page reattached, boards slightly soiled, board edges rubbed

Charles W. Williams, morocco book label; bought from D. & E. Lake, Toronto, 1988

Tomash & Williams D53; ESTC S111670; Instruments in print 4; STC 6858

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."

FIRST EDITION. Leonard Digges died before he finished this treatise on surveying, so it was completed and extended by his son Thomas. While some of the surveying matter had previously appeared in works by Apianus and Gemma Frisius, this is the first appearance of descriptions of the use of these instruments in English. This volume also contains the first description of the theodolite, a term coined by Digges in this work, though the instrument itself was already in use on the Continent. There is even a brief mention of the use of lenses, indicating that Digges had ideas about the telescope before it was first described properly in 1608.