Search Results: Authors starting with O from SOPHIA RARE BOOKS

Basel: Eusebius & Heirs of Nikolaus Episcopius, 1575. First edition. Hardcover. THE FIRST WORK ON NUMBER THEORY. First edition, very rare, of the first systematic treatise on algebra (Smith, Rara Arithmetica, p. 348), which "inspired the rebirth of number theory" (Britannica), translated from the Greek by Wilhelm Holtzmann [Xylander] - the original Greek text was not published until 1621. "The appearance of [this] translation had an immediate and enormous influence on the development and shaping of Algebra'" (Heath, Diophantus of Alexandria (1910), p. 26). "The work marks the high point of Alexandrian Greek algebra: Diophantus introduced symbolism into algebra, dealt with powers as high as six (in contrast to classical Greek mathematicians, who did not consider powers higher than three), and delved extensively into the solution of indeterminate equations, founding the branch of algebra now known as Diophantine analysis" (Norman). "Xylander was an enthusiast for Diophantus, and his preface and notes… Read More

Pesaro: Girolamo Concordia, 1588. GREEK GEOMETRY - A CRUCIAL INFLUENCE ON DESCARTES. First edition of Pappus' Collection, translated with commentary by Federico Commandino, a princely copy from the notable collection of the great Papal family and patrons of learning, the Piccolomini, Dukes of Amalfi, thence by marriage to the German nobleman von Troilo. The Collection is "by far the most important of Pappus' works ... without it, much of the geometrical achievement of his predecessors would have been lost forever ... The Collection deals with the whole body of Greek geometry, mostly in the form of commentaries on texts which it is assumed the reader has to hand. It reproduces known solutions to problems in geometry; but it also frequently gives Pappus' own solutions, or improvements and extensions to existing solutions. Thus Pappus handles the problem of inscribing five regular solids in a sphere in a way quite different from Euclid; gives a broader generalization than Euclid to the famous… Read More

Berlin: J.G.F. Kniestädt for T.H. Riemann, 1827. First edition. PMM 289 - Measuring Electricity. First edition of "Ohm's great work" (DSB), containing the fully-developed presentation of his theory of electricity, including Ohm's Law. "Ohm's great contribution − 'The Galvanic Chain Mathematically Calculated' − was to measure the rate of current flow and the effects of resistance on the current. 'Ohm's law' − that the resistance of a given conductor is a constant independent of the voltage applied or the current flowing (that is, C = E/R, where C = current, E = electromotive force and R = resistance) − was arrived at theoretically by analogy with Fourier's heat measurements (1800-14)" (PMM). "The expression "investigated mathematically" in the title of Ohm's book described his objective: to deduce the properties of the galvanic circuit from a set of "fundamental laws." The first of these laws states that electricity passes only between adjacent particles of the conductor and that the… Read More

Berlin: J.G.F. Kniestädt for T.H. Riemann, 1827. First edition. PMM 289 - Measuring Electricity. First edition of "Ohm's great work" (DSB), containing the fully-developed presentation of his theory of electricity, including Ohm's Law. "Ohm's great contribution − 'The Galvanic Chain Mathematically Calculated' − was to measure the rate of current flow and the effects of resistance on the current. 'Ohm's law' − that the resistance of a given conductor is a constant independent of the voltage applied or the current flowing (that is, C = E/R, where C = current, E = electromotive force and R = resistance) − was arrived at theoretically by analogy with Fourier's heat measurements (1800-14)" (PMM). "The expression "investigated mathematically" in the title of Ohm's book described his objective: to deduce the properties of the galvanic circuit from a set of "fundamental laws." The first of these laws states that electricity passes only between adjacent particles of the conductor and that the… Read More

Antwerp: Officina Plantiniana, 1591. First edition. THE FIRST MODERN WORLD ATLAS HAND-COLOURED AND HEIGHTENED IN GOLD. Fourth Latin edition of the first modern world atlas, and a copy hand-coloured and heightened in gold. First published in 1570, the Theatrum is the first atlas to contain maps printed in a uniform style and format and to display a catalogue of the authors whose source Ortelius used in the drawing of the maps. Ortelius's atlas "set a standard by which subsequent collections would be judged and compared" (Short). Even though it was the most expensive work published at the time, it proved an instant success with four versions of the first edition being printed in 1570 alone. Several editions were printed at the Officina Plantiniana at the end of the 16th century and from 1585 Ortelius began to include historical maps in a section called Paregon. The maps and plates in the Parergon may be considered "the most outstanding engravings depicting the wide-spread interest in classical… Read More

New Haven, Connecticut: n.p., 1969. First edition. THE BEGINNING OF THE 'DINOSAUR RENAISSANCE'. First edition, very rare, of arguably the single most important work on dinosaurs, by "the most influential palaeontologist of the second half of the 20th century" (Dodson & Gingerich). Prior to Ostrom's work, dinosaurs were largely depicted as slow-witted, slow-moving, cold-blooded reptiles. This revolutionary monograph upended decades of thinking about dinosaur physiology, revealing them as active and agile, with the fast metabolisms of mammals and birds. "The functional morphology of the dinosaur (species Deinonychus antirrhopus) implied an upright posture and actively predacious habits at odds with the perception that dinosaurs were cold-blooded and sluggish. Ostrom later concluded that the creature must have been warm-blooded, reviving an idea posited during the early days of paleontology and thereby revolutionizing the field" (Britannica). "Dinosaurs had begun to look a lot more interesting one… Read More