BOISSIERE, L'ART D'ARYTHMETIQUE, PARIS, 1554

FIRST EDITION, 8vo (162 x 100mm.), woodcut diagrams and illustrations (including full-page profile portrait of a woman on last leaf), penultimate leaf with errata, modern calf gilt antique-style, modern red calf-backed cloth folding box, some damp-staining at beginning and end

Arnaud de Vitry d'Avaucourt (1926-2012), bookplate, sale in these rooms, 3 November 1998, lot 48; sale in these rooms, 17 June 1999, lot 108, £2000, Erwin Tomash

Tomash & Williams B190; Smith, Rara arithmetica, p.260; USTC 24336 (6 copies)

the condition of this lot is as described in the catalogue description
"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."

A work combining pure and commercial arithmetic, dedicated by its noble author to Pierre d’Asnières, a lawyer counselling royal financial officers. Business was the least savoury of mathematics’ applications, and Boissière hoped to overcome prejudice by invoking a noble dedicatee and associating arithmetic with Neo-Platonic beliefs. He states that had written this work “not only because by it we can easily carry out our business affairs, military, domestic, and other calculations; but also not in the least because we can contemplate the spiritual things comprised in the said numbers” (translation by Natalie Zemon Davis, “Sixteenth-Century French Arithmetics on the Business Life” in Journal of the History of Ideas, volume 21, 1960, p.35).