拍品 838
  • 838

HORSBURGH. HANDBOOK OF NAPIER EXHIBITION; WITH MODERN INSTRUMENTS (BOTH 1914)

估價
700 - 1,000 GBP
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描述

  • Two editions of the handbook relating to the Napier tercentenary exhibition:
i. Napier tercentenary celebration. Handbook of the exhibition of Napier's relics and of books, instruments, & devices for facilitating calculation. Edinburgh: Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1914, first edition, plates, modern black cloth with original pale blue wrappers affixed to covers, (bought from Graham Weiner), [T&W H165; Origins of Cyberspace 322; Randell 1979 p.138], minor foxing to wrappers and preliminariesii. Modern Instruments and Methods of Calculation. A Handbook of the Napier Tercentenary Exhibition. London: G. Bell & Sons and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, [1915], manuscript notes dated 29 July 1933 on front endpaper and incorporating corrections by Comrie on p.48, original green cloth, preserved in folding cloth box, ownership signatures of J.P. Johnston and (?) Chas. D. Humberd, (bought from Jonathan Hill, 1979), [T&W H166; Origins of Cyberspace 323], cloth slightly nicked and worn at extremities, hinges starting, minor spottinglarge 8vo (2)

Condition

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, when 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 the rare catalogue presented to those who attended the Napier exhibition, together with the later hard-cover edition with a slightly altered title-page. The exhibition marked the three-hundredth anniversary of the publication of Mirifici Logarithmorum Canonis Descriptio, in which Napier described his invention of logarithms. The celebration was held between 24 and 27 July 1914, but the conference on mathematical computation planned for shortly afterwards was cancelled owing to the rising political tensions in Europe, with most delegates (who had attended from the UK, France, Germany and elsewhere) leaving Edinburgh five days before the outbreak of World War I. The volume contains the best description of the machines, instruments and calculation techniques used prior to 1914.