Quatro, 12 engraved folding plates, recent quarter goat skin over marbled boards. An exceptional and relevant line of previous ownership threads its way through this book. It bears the bookplates / labels of three notable mathematicians and one astronomer. In addition the marginalia of at least one of them is present. The earliest being Matthew Young (1750-1800) an eminent Irish mathematician and Natural Philosopher. Erasmus Smith’s Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy (1786-1799) at Trinity College, Dublin. In addition to his bookplate he has inscribed his name on the title page and dated it 1773, and added to the letters T.C.D. (probably Trinity College Dublin. Furthermore, the marginalia interspersed in the text and margins appears to be in his hand. Next is the bookplate of Thomas Romney Robinson (1792 – 1882), Irish astronomer and physicist. He was for some years a deputy professor of Natural Philosophy (Physics) at Trinity. In 1823 he gained the additional appointment of astronomer at the Armagh Observatory. The Robinson Crater on the moon is named after him. He is also of note as the inventor of the cup-anemometer (1846) for measuring wind speed. His daughter Mary Robinson married the polymath Sir George Stokes who appears to have inherited this book from his father-in-law, associate and friend Thomas Robinson. It bears his simple book label on the title page. Born in County Sligo Ireland, Stokes spent all of his career at Cambridge where he was Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. He made major contributions to the fields of mathematics, chemistry, fluidics and optics with notable works on fluorescence and polarisation. He also demonstrated the oxygen transport function of haemoglobin. In 1893 he received the Royal Society’s Copley Medal, then the most prestigious scientific prize in the world, “for his researches and discoveries in physical science. He coined the term fluorescence in response to Sir John Herschel’s “epipolic dispersion” and his own initial term “dispersive reflexion”. He stated “I confess I do not like this term (dispersive reflexion). I am almost inclined to coin a word, and call this appearance fluorescence from fluor – spar, and the analogous term opalescence is derived from the name of the mineral (opal)”. The fourth sign of ownership is the bookplate of Philip Worsley Wood (1880-1956). Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge and a member of the London Mathematical Society. In his earlier years he published a series on the proceedings of the Mathematical Society. It appears that the chair of College teachings for Emmanuel conflicted with his original work in mathematics and apart from his Cambridge Mathematical Tract of the Twisted Cube, his output seems to have been limited.
Publisher: J. Bentham
Date Published: 1765
Publication Place: Cambridge
Condition: Very good.
Binding: Hardcover. Half leather.
Additional information
| Weight | 1400 g |
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