- 71
Brahe, Tycho
Description
- Brahe, Tycho
- Epistolarum astronomicarum libri. Uraniborg: (ex officina typographica Authoris), 1596
- Paper
Provenance
Literature
Condition
"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
This is the first (and only) volume of Tycho's correspondence on astronomical matters, with Landgrave Wilhelm IV of Hesse-Kassel and his astronomer Christoph Rothmann between 1585 and 1595, published at Tycho's own press on the island of Hven, which enabled Tycho to print works to his own exacting standards and in timely fashion despite the remoteness of his location on Hven; he even had a paper mill constructed on the island. It was the first of a projected series of volumes of his correspondence, as Tycho corresponded with over eighty individuals; this was one of the main forms of scientific exchange in early modern Europe. Landgrave Wilhelm was a keen astronomer who desired to produce a new catalogue of the stars, and the correspondence discusses results from the observatories in Kassel and Hven; at one point Tycho exhorts Rothmann to abandon his adherence to Copernican heliocentrism. The letters also contain descriptions of the comet of 1585 and of the observatory on Hven. The year after the publication of this volume, Tycho left Hven for good, taking his press with him to Copenhagen and Wandsbeck; he finally reached the court of Rudolf II in Prague in 1599.