Basel: [colophon:] Hieronymus Froben and Nicolaus Bischof, March 1556. First edition, an exceptional copy, the finest we have seen, of the “first systematic treatise on mining and metallurgy and one of the first technological books of modern times” (PMM). “The twelve books of Agricola’s treatise … embrace everything connected with..... More
Item #4953

London: John Murray, 1859. First edition, an unusually fine copy, untouched in its original binding, of “the most influential scientific work of the nineteenth century” (Horblit), “the most important biological work ever written” (Freeman), and “a turning point, not only in the history of science, but in the history of..... More
Item #5016

Strasbourg; Leiden: Elzevier; Elzevier, 1636; 1638. First edition of a great Galilean rarity, the Nov-Antiqua or ‘Letter to Christina’, with the first edition of his most important work, the Discorsi, together in a magnificent contemporary armorial binding executed for the Archbishop of Reims. The Nov-Antiqua is a “superb manifesto of..... More
Item #4995

London: Printed by T. and J.W. Pasham, in Black-Friars, and sold by the booksellers, in London and Westminster, 1763. First edition, extremely rare, of Harrison’s announcement of his invention and testing of his first accurate chronometer, the famous ‘sea-watch’ later called H4, which solved the problem of determining longitude at..... More
Item #4994

Paris: André Wechel, 1572; 1568. First editions of two of Paré's most important works, both very rare, and in fine condition. “The Cinq livres contains all new material. It had been called by several serious writers Paré's chef d'oeuvre ... in it appears the first description of the fracture of..... More
Item #3697

Paris: for the author, 1588. First edition, a magnificent copy bound in contemporary gilt vellum, and with outstanding provenance, of one of the most famous illustrated books of the sixteenth century and a landmark in book design. “The plates in Ramelli’s treatise are artistically as well as technologically superb, the..... More
Item #3694

Basel: [Robert Winter, 1539 (colophon)]. First edition, and a truly wonderful copy in a dated contemporary binding, of Vesalius’s ‘venesection letter,’ one of his rarest works, embodying what may be the earliest approach to an area of medicine which may be called scientific in the modern sense. This is a...... More
Item #4765