拍品 551
  • 551

RECORDE, THE WHETSTONE OF WITTE, LONDON, 1557, NINETEENTH-CENTURY CALF, RICHARD TOWNELEY'S COPY

估價
15,000 - 20,000 GBP
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描述

  • The whetstone of witte, whiche is the seconde parte of Arithmetike: containing thextraction of Rootes: the Cossike practise, with the rule of Equation: and the woorkes of Surde Nombers. London: John Kingston, (1557)
4to (192 x 133mm.), black letter, woodcut initials and diagrams, 2 folding letterpress tables (signed R1 and D3), late nineteenth-century calf, quires C and D transposed, small marginal wormhole, slight damp-staining in gutter towards end, binding slightly rubbed

來源

Richard Towneley (1628-1706/7), of Towneley, Lancashire, armorial bookplate dated 1702 on verso of title-page and shelfmark R:50 in upper corner of title-page; sale of the Towneley library, Sotheby's, Wilkinson & Hodge, 18-28 June 1883, lot 2262; Harrison D. Horblit (1912-1988), booklabel; H.P. Kraus, catalogue 168, item 153, $11,500; bought from The Antiquarian Scientist, Acton, MA, 1990 An astronomer and experimenter in several fields, Richard Towneley assembled a valuable library, which was integrated into the already substantial library collected by his brothers (Tony Kitto, “The Towneley family library” in The Book Collector 59, 2010, pp.399-416). An inventory taken around the time of Richard’s death in 1707 lists 1979 books (John Rylands University Library, English MS375). The present volume is entered in that inventory as “Whetstone of Witt", with the shelfmark R.50.

出版

Tomash & Williams R44; ESTC S110599; STC 20820; Smith, Rara arithmetica, p.286

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."

拍品資料及來源

FIRST EDITION of Recorde's treatise on arithmetic, following on from his earlier book entitled The grounde of artes (1543). Recorde introduces the use of parallel lines to represent "equals", which is his only major contribution to have entered common usage. It deals with Boethian numbers and algebra ("Cossike nombers").