general science - 15 titles

Author:  Aristotle
Title/Imprint: Eis Organon Aristolelous
5 v. : ill. ; 32 cm. (fol.); Dexteritate Aldi Manucii Romani: Venice , 1495-98

Aristotle vast intellectual range was incredibly influential and his writings and teachings influences Western science for centuries. This work is the first appearance in print of his complete works in the original Greek, a splendid typographical production by the great Venetian printer, Aldus Manutius.
The set was edited by Aldo Manuzio and Scipione Forteguerri.
Each volume has separate t.p. The imprint: "Calendis Nouembris. M.CCCC.LXXXXV. [1495]-M.IID. [1498] mense Iunio" comes from the colophon of volumes 1 and 5. Colophon of v. 2 dated: Mense Februario. M.III.D.; v. 3 dated: Mense Ianuario MIIID.; v. 4 dated: Cale[n]dis Iunii. M.III.D.
The set also includes works of Galen (v. 2), Philo, of Alexandria (v. 2), Theophrastus (v. 2-4), and Alexander, of Aphrodisias (v. 4, pt. 2)
Vol. 1: the final 2 words on leaf a7 recto read correctly: apodeiktikais episēmais.
Vol. 3: leaf 100 verso has the final line of text printed on a strip of paper and pasted in; it has a leaf signed PP (i.e. 2rho) inserted between leaves 400 and 401.
Our copy is bound in 6 volumes, with v. 4 divided. The pagination for the set is: [234]; [32], 268; 400, [1], 401-457, [9] (lacking 1 leaf XX8); [1], 226; 116, 42, 12, 121, [1]; 209, [13], 210-316, [1] leaves.
There is some manuscript marginalia and manuscript notes in some volumes, with some loss due to cropping.

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Author:  Titus Lucretius Carus
Title/Imprint: De rerum natura
[94] leaves ; 33 cm. (fol.); Fridenperger: Verona , 1486

Lucretius' work, in the form of an epic poem, tells of the theories of his teacher, the Greek philosopher Epicurus, demonstrating the workings of his model of a universe based on the atom as the fundamental particle.
Full imprint: In Verona : Paulus hunc impressit Fridenperger ..., die uigesimo octauo Septembris calen. Octobris [28 Sept.] 1486.
The title comes from the incipit on leaf a2 recto; imprint from colophon on leaf m7 recto.
Signatures: a-m8.
Leaves a1 and m8 [both blanks?] are lacking.
Our copy contains a provenance stamp: "F. Liechtenstein. Bibliothek."
Leaf a2 recto has a richly colored illuminated manuscript border, done in a late Renaissance style.
Some manuscript notes can be found in margins.
Our copy is bound in full marbled calf; gold-tooled spine and covers; raised bands; silk-covered endpapers; all edges gilt; in a protective box.

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Author:  Pliny the Elder (about A.D. 23-79)
Title/Imprint: Naturalis historia (Natural history)
[712] p. ; 41 cm. in box 43 cm. (fol.); Johannes de Spira: Venice , 1469

This is the first edition of this work (one of 100 printed in 1469) and arguably the first printed scientific text. The Natural History is an encyclopedic work that discusses the sum total of our knowledge about the world and continued to have a great influence up through the Middle Ages.
Title (from incipit): Plinius Secundus Nouocomensis equestribus militiis industriȩ functus, procurationes quoq[ue] splendidissimas atq[ue] continuas summa integritate administrauit
Imprint (from Goff): Venice : Johannes de Spira, before 18 Sept. 1469.
Colophon (in verse, p. [710]) reads: Quem modo tam rarum cupiens uix lector haber[et]: quisq[ue] etiam fractus pene legendus eram: restituit Venetis me nuper Spira Ioannes: exscripsitq[ue] libros ȩre notante meos. Fessa manus quondam moneo: calamusq[ue] quiescat. Nanq[ue] labor studio cessit: & ingenio. M.CCCC.LXVIIII.
Leaves are printed on both sides; 50-52 lines per page. Unsigned gatherings. Final leaf (p. [711]-[712]) blank; lacking in our copy.
Manuscript provenance note at top of p. [1]: Baccij Valorij Philippi F. [illegible]. Illuminated initials on first page; rubricated throughout in red and blue inks. Old manuscript annotations throughout.
Bound in gilt-ruled red morocco, preserving earlier gilt-tooled calf spine; raised bands; gilt-tooled doublures; marbled endpapers; all edges gilt. In modern box.
Cited/Indexed in: Goff P-786; Hain-Copinger-Reichling 13087; Proctor 4018

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Author:  Roger Bacon (1214?-1294)
Title/Imprint: Opus majus
[30], 477, [5] p., [3] folded leaves of plates ; 38 cm. (fol.); Gulielmi Bowyer: London , 1733

Bacon was an early proponent of experimental science and expounded on many subjects in a manner that seems quite modern. This work was produced after he informed Pope Clement IV of his ideas and in it he urged the pope of the importance of carrying out Bacon's scientific reforms. This printed version was edited by Samuel Jebb.
Signatures: [A]2 a-e4 f4(-F4) g2 B-6F2 6G2(-6G2). The title page is printed in red and black.
Subscription list: p. [27]-[29], first sequence.
Page numbers 97-100 repeated in the pagination; 101-104 omitted.
Written in ink on the front paste down: Hudson Gurney; in pencil: Large paper copy rare.
Supralibros: Hudson Gurney.

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Author: 
Title/Imprint: Ortus sanitatis
[720] p. : ill. (woodcuts) ; 31 cm. (fol.); Johann Prüss: Strasbourg , 1497

This is the first Strasbourg edition of this popular medieval herbal, a work that served as an encyclopedia of medical applications of all things, animal, vegetable, or mineral.
Imprint (from Goff): Strasbourg : Johann Prüss, not after 21 Oct. 1497.
Signatures: a8 b-k6 l8 m-r6 s8 t-z6 2A6 2B8 2C-2E6 2F8 2G-2I6 A8 B-C6 D8 E-H6 I8 K-Q6 R8 S-T6 U8 2a6 2b4 2c-2e6; leaf Q1 signed U.
Tractatus de animalibus and Tractatus de vrinis have separate half title pages.
Contents (from t.p.): De herbis et plantis -- De animalibus [et symbol] reptilibus -- De auibus et volatilibus -- De piscibus [et symbol] natatilibus - - De lapidibus [et symbol] in terra venis nasc etibus -- De vrinis et earum spiciebus -- Tabula medicinalis cum directorio generali per omnes tractatus.
Cited/Indexed in: Hain-Copinger *8941; Goff H-487.
Our copy has armorial bookplates from: James Franck Bright; Jacobi P.R. Lyell.

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Author:  Leonardo da Vinci (1542-1519)
Title/Imprint: Il Codice atlantico
12 v. facsim. 61 cm; Johnson Reprint: New York , 1973-77

Leonardo's famed scientific and engineering notebooks in Milan were faithfully reproduced during a restoration in the 1960s and issued in 998 sets providing a detailed view of the over 2000 pages of the entire codex. The original Herald 78 was the set produced in Milan by Hoepli from 1894-1904, edited by Giovanni Piumati. We have listed this new set as the Herald since it is the new definitive edition and produced with advanced reproduction techniques not available in 1900. The original manuscript was restored during the process of reproduction by the monks of the Grottaferrata Abbey in Rome. The facsimile edition is partnered with a 12-volume set of transcriptions of the text by Augusto Marinoni.

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Author:  Jan van der Straet (1523-1605)
Title/Imprint: Speculum diuersarum imaginum speculatiuarum
[186] leaves in various foliations : chiefly ill. ; 30x38 cm. (fol.); Ioannem Gallæum: Antwerp , 1638

Within this work is the actual Herald of Science, a set of 24 plates known as the Nova Reperta (New Discoveries) that illustrate the new inventions and discoveries of the age, celebrating the genius of the Renaissance.
Engravings in the complete set are signed by I. Galle, P. Galle, J. van der Straet, M. de Vos, H. Wierx and others. The set contains 30 sections, among which are Straet's Nova reperta, Americae retectio, and Vermis sericus--see leaf [2] for complete contents. Several sections apparently also issued separately. The date of the work is given as 1638 but the Nova reperta engravings probably date back to around 1580.

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Author:  Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
Title/Imprint: Instauratio magna
5 p. l, 360 [i.e. 352], 36 p., 1 l. 30 cm; Joannem Billium, Typographum Regium: London , 1620

Bacon had a great plan for the assessment of all knowledge and planned to codify it in a series of works called the Instauratio magna. He never completed it, but in this work (also known as the Novum organum), actually the second part of the Instauratio (it was the first to appear), he outlines his what he feels is the correct way of "interpreting nature."
Signatures: t.-p. (verso blank), [par.]4, A-C6, D-Ss4, Tt6, a-e4. Pages 23-24 at end (sig. c4, blank); also last leaf e4 (blank). Errors: page nos. 173-180 omitted in paging; 111 misprinted for 311; 6 at end misprinted for 7.
Contents: "Distribvtio operis. Eius constituuntur partes sex. 1. Partitiones scientiarum. 2. Nouum organum. 3. Phænomena vniuersi. 4. Scala intellectus. 5. Prodromi. 6. Philosophia secunda."--p. 15.
Of the six parts, this edition contains only the 2d part, the Nouum organum, followed by a sketch of the 3d part, which the author calls "Parasceve, ad historiam natvralem, et experimentalem", and a"Catalogvs historiarvm particvlarivm, secundùm capita". Works which represent the first and third parts were published later; of the fourth and fifth parts only prefaces were written.

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Author:  René Descartes (1596-1650)
Title/Imprint: Discours de la methode pour bien conduire sa raison, & chercher la verité dans les sciences. Plus La dioptriqve. Les meteores. Et La geometrie. Qui sont des essais de cete methode. (Discourse on a method for guiding reason, and discovering truth in the sciences. With Dioptrics, meteorology, and geometry, which are essays that are based on this method.)
78 p., 1 l., 413, [34] p. illus., diagrs. 21 cm; I. Maire: Leiden , 1637

This work (also appearing in the Mathematics section as Herald 107b) was Descartes' first published treatise and discussed his ideas on the proper methods for doing science. As examples he appended separate works on optics, meteorology, and geometry. This is the book where he first stated, "je pense, donc je suis:" "I think, therefore, I am."
Our copy has a bookplate: Fried. Wilh. Graf von Schlabrendorff.

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Author:  Accademia del Cimento
Title/Imprint: Saggi di naturali esperienze fatte nell'Accademia del cimento
8 p. l., cclxix p., 8 l. illus., port. 35 cm; Giuseppe Cocchini: Florence , 1667

This is the first book produced by the very first organization designed for group efforts at scientific investigation, the "Accademia del cimento." The academy was only in existence for ten years (1657-1667) in Florence. The group included such notable figures as Viviani, Borelli, Steno, Redi, and Cassini. This work discusses and illustrates several scientific instruments such as the Florentine thermometer, an improved barometer, and experiments on air pressure, speed of sound, radiant heat, phosphorescence, compressibility of water, and the discovery of the plane of oscillation of a pendulum.
The dedication to Ferdinando II is dated 14 luglio 1667 and signed: Il saggiato segretario [Lorenzo Magalotti]. The licenses at the end are dated 18 settembre, and 5, 7 ottobre, XI ottobris 1667. "Questa prima ed. non è stata vendibile presso i librai, ma veniva regalata a piacimento del card. Leopoldo de' Medici." "Si trovano esemplari in carta grande." Some copies are noted with a different title-page: "Saggi ... descritti dal Sollevato" dated MDCLXVI (Gamba, 4th ed., 1839, no. 852).
Signatures: [par]' +' A-Ll' *' (*' blank)

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Author:  Royal Society (Great Britain)
Title/Imprint: Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London
London , 1665/66-

The Royal Society is the oldest scientific society in Great Britain, founded in 1660. This, their first journal publication, began in 1665 and some of the most important scientific contributions of its members were first published in its pages. The set in the Dibner Library extends up to the year 1820, and later volumes are found in the other libraries in the Smithsonian. The actual Herald 83 as listed by Bern Dibner consisted of only the first 32 issues of the journal for the years 1665 to 1667.

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Author:  Denis Dodart (1634-1707)
Title/Imprint: Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire des plantes
[4], 131, [1] p., [1] leaf of plates : ill. ; 51 cm. (1); Imprimerie Royale: Paris , 1676

Herald 84 consists of three of the first works published by the Academie des Sciences, the French counterpart to the London Royal Society. They were large and spectacular books that were to be presented as gifts of the King and the Academy. This work dealt with the botanical research of the Academie Royale des Sciences. Informal gatherings by Descartes, Pascal, Gassendi, and other scientists of the mid-1600s prompted Louis XIV's finance minister, Colbert, to form the Academie in 1668.
Our copy is bound in red leather with arms identified in pencil as those of the Duke of Newcastle.

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Author:  Claude Perrault (1613-1688)
Title/Imprint: Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire naturelle des animaux
[14], 205, [3] p., [30] leaves of plates : ill., ports. ; 52 cm; Imprimerie Royale: Paris , 1676

Herald 84 consists of three of the first works published by the Academie des Sciences, the French counterpart to the London Royal Society. They were large and spectacular books that were to be presented as gifts of the King and the Academy. This work dealt with the zoological research of the Academie des Sciences. Informal gatherings by Descartes, Pascal, Gassendi, and other scientists of the mid-1600s prompted Louis XIV's finance minister, Colbert, to form the Academie in 1668.
This work was first published anonymously by the Académie des sciences, Paris in 2 parts in 1671 and 1676. The colophon reads: " ... par Sébastien Mabre-Cramoisy ... " llustrations by Sébastien Le Clerc.
Provenance: Caroli Gunzbourg ... Musaei Galitzensis (donation inscription); Herbert McLean Evans (bookplate); armorial bookplate with motto "Non ignobile otium".

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Author: 
Title/Imprint: Veterum mathematicorum Athenæi, Bitonis, Apollodori, Heronis, Philonis, et aliorum opera, græce et latine, pleraque nunc primum edita
xvi, 365 [i.e. 355], [9] p. illus., diagrs. 43 cm; Typographia Regia: Paris , 1693

Herald 84 consists of three of the first works published by the Academie des Sciences, the French counterpart to the London Royal Society. They were large and spectacular books that were to be presented as gifts of the King and the Academy. This volume dealt with mathematical and physical sciences. Informal gatherings by Descartes, Pascal, Gassendi, and other scientists of the mid-1600s prompted Louis XIV's finance minister, Colbert, to form the Academie in 1668.
Edited by M. Thévenot, J. Boivin, and P. de La Hire. The text is in Greek and Latin, partly in parallel columns. Error in paging: p. 280-289 omitted.
Signatures: ã ẽ A-Yy Zz .

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Author:  Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
Title/Imprint: Encyclopédie, ou, Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers
Briasson: Paris , 1751-80

This encyclopedia of 35 volumes was produced under the direction of Diderot and d'Alembert. It provided an incredible wealth of detail about the sciences and the mechanical and industrial arts and was one of the most influential and controversial works of the 1700s. Its more than 3000 engraved plates bring the period to life.
The Dibner Library copy is cataloged in several records reflecting the way in which it was issued in groups. The call numbers for the complete set including supplements are: f AE25 .E53 1751 (vols. 1-17, 1751-65); AE 25 .E53p 1751 (plate vols. 1-11, 1762-72); f AE25 .E53s 1751 (supplement vols. 1-4, 1776-77); f AE25 .E53sr 1751 (plate vol. for supplement, 1777); f AE25 .E53t 1751 (Table analytique, vols. 1-2, 1780).
f AE25 .E53 1751 (vols. 1-17, 1751-65): Encyclopédie, ou, Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers / / par une société de gens de lettres ; mis en ordre & publié par M. Diderot ... & quant à la partie mathématique, par M. d'Alembert ... Publisher: A Paris : Chez Briasson ... David l'aîné ... Le Breton ... Durand, 1751-65. Description: 17 v. , [1] folded leaf of plates : table ; 41 cm. (fol.). Tomes 8-17 have title: Encyclopédie ... mis en ordre par Mr.*** ... A Neufchastel : Chez Samuel Faulche & Compagnie ... , 1765. Text in two columns. Errata in t. 1-7; t. 5-7 include additional errata for preceding tomes. Tome 17 includes "Articles omis," p. 751-890. Colophon: De l'Imprimerie de Le Breton, Imprimeur ordinaire du roy. Title vignettes, head- and tail-pieces (some signed Papillon), initials.
f AE25 .E53 1751 (vols. 1-17, 1751-65): Tomes 8-17 have title: Encyclopédie ... mis en ordre par Mr.*** ... A Neufchastel : Chez Samuel Faulche & Compagnie ... , 1765. Text in two columns. Errata in t. 1-7; t. 5-7 include additional errata for preceding tomes. Tome 17 includes "Articles omis," p. 751-890. Colophon: De l'Imprimerie de Le Breton, Imprimeur ordinaire du roy. Title vignettes, head- and tail-pieces (some signed Papillon), initials. Our copy lacks the frontispiece engraved by Cochin fils (?).
AE 25 .E53p 1751 (plate vols. 1-11, 1762-72): Recueil de planches, sur les sciences, les arts libéraux, et les arts méchaniques : avec leur explication ... Publisher: A Paris : Chez Briasson ... David ... Le Breton ... Durand ..., 1762-1772. Description: 11 v. [2885, i.e. 2693] leaves of plates (some folded) : ill. ; 41 cm. (fol.). Plates illustrating the Encyclopédie of Diderot and d'Alembert. Half title in each tome: Recueil de planches, sur les sciences et les arts. "C'est M. Besnard, graveur, qui a dirigé l'execution des planches depuis le quatrième volume inclusivement jusqu'à la fin de la collection"--Etat des planches, t. 11, p. [5]. Tome 2 issued in two livraisons, constituting t. 2-3; t. 4-11 also called livraison 3-10. Publishers listed for t. 7: Briasson, Le Breton; for t. 8-11: Briasson. Includes "Table alphabetique" in t. 11. Discrepancy in plate count due to differences between cataloging conventions and Encyclopédie's practice of assigning multiple numbers to folded plates. Plates wanting: no. I of Gantier, t. 4; nos. VI and VIII of Règne animal, t. 6.
f AE25 .E53s 1751 (supplement vols. 1-4, 1776-77): Supplément à l'Encyclopédie, ou, Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers / / par une société des gens de lettres ; mis en ordre et publié par M.*** ... Publisher: A Amsterdam : Chez M.M. Rey, libraire, 1776-1777. Description: 4 v., [5] folded leaves of plates : tables ; 41 cm. (fol.). Supplements the Encyclopédie, ou, Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts, et des métiers, of Diderot and d'Alembert. Edited by Jean-Baptiste Robinet. Also issued under title: Nouveau dictionnaire pour servir de supplément aux dictionnaires des sciences, des arts et des métiers ... and imprint: A Paris : Chez Panckoucke ... Stoupe ... Brunet ... ; A Amsterdam : Chez M.M. Rey ... . Text in two columns. Title vignettes, head- and tail-pieces (some signed Papillon), initials.
f AE25 .E53sr 1751 (plate vol. for supplement, 1777): Suite du Recueil de planches, sur les sciences, les arts libéraux et les arts méchaniques : avec leur explication : deux cens quarante-quatre planches. Publisher: A Paris : Chez Panckoucke, Libraire ... Stoupe, Imprimeur-libraire ... Brunet, Libraire ... ; A Amsterdam : Chez M.M. Rey, Libraire, 1777. Description: [6], 22 p., [244, i.e. 242] leaves of plates (some folded) : ill., maps, music, plans ; 41 cm. (fol.). Issued to accompany the Supplément à l'Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. "Etat des planches contenues dans ce cinquieme volume du Supplément": p. [6] at front.
f AE25 .E53t 1751 (Table analytique, vols. 1-2, 1780): Table analytique et raisonnée des matieres contenues dans les XXXIII volumes in-folio du Dictionnaire des sciences, des arts et des métiers, et dans son supplément. Publisher: A Paris : Chez Panckoucke ... ; A Amsterdam : Chez Marc-Michel Rey, 1780. Description: 2 v., [1] folded leaf of plates : ill. ; 41 cm. (fol.). Colophon: A Paris : de l'Imprimerie de Stoupe ... , 1780. Title vignettes; head- and tail-pieces (some signed Papillon), initials. Plate description: Essai d'une distribution généalogique des sciences et des arts principaux. Selon l'explication du système des connoisances humaines dans le Discours préliminaire des éditeurs de l'Encyclopédie, publié par M. Diderot et M. d'Alembert ... par Chrétien Frédéric Guillaume Roth ... 1769; plate signed Benard. Includes index, p. 904-906, t. 2, of plates in the Encyclopédie.
Stamp on title page of each tome: Library U.S. National Museum Smithsonian Institution, Jan 8 1894; with accession no. added in ink: 146469. Contemporary mottled calf binding, gold tooled spine, leather spine labels, marbled end papers.

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