Basel: Hieronymus Froben, 1546. An exceptionally fine copy, completely untouched in its original binding, of ‘the first handbook of modern systematic mineralogy’ (Grolier/Horblit 2a). “Georgius Agricola (latinized from the German ‘Georg Bauer’) became interested in the theoretical and practical aspects of mining, metallurgy and geology after being appointed town doctor..... More about De ortu & causis subterraneorum Lib. V. De natura eorum quae effluent ex terra Lib. IIII. De...
Item #4140

Stockholm: P.A. Norstedt, 1884. The rare offprint issue of Arrhenius’s landmark discovery of the theory of electrolytic disassociation. Arrhenius was awarded the 1903 Nobel Prize in chemistry “in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered to the advancement of chemistry by his electrolytic theory of dissociation.” By 1880, “it..... More about Recherches sur la Conductibilité Galvanique des Électrolytes. I: La conductibilté des...
Item #3160

Milan: Stamperia e Fonderia del Genio, 1804. First edition of this very important work on transplantation and experimental surgery in animals. “The publication of Degli Innesti Animali (On grafting in Animals) by Giuseppe Baronio (1759-1811) in 1804, the first account of experimental autologous skin transplantation in a ram, marks the... More about Degli innesti animali
Item #4516

Paris: Rignoux, 1843. First edition, very rare inscribed presentation copy, of Claude Bernard’s doctoral thesis on the gastric juice and the process of digestion, which he defended on 7 December 1843. Although Bernard never practiced medicine, his thesis “was a work both useful to medicine and dedicated to pure science... More about Du suc gastrique et se son rôle dans la nutrition
Item #4132

Amsterdam: Caspar Commelin, 1673. First edition, rare, and a superb copy bound in contemporary red morocco, of this important work of human and comparative anatomy by the Dutch physician, chemist, and anatomist Gerard Blaes. The first 167 pages are devoted to human anatomy, followed by the description of the anatomy... More about Miscellanea anatomica, hominis, brutorumque variorum, fabricam diversam magna parte exhibentia
Item #4468

Copenhagen: IIe Congrès International de la Lumière, 1932. First edition of this famous lecture, which marks Bohr’s first detailed attempt to apply concepts arising from quantum mechanics (particularly complementarity) to areas outside physics. “Here, for the first time, Bohr raised a question that was to preoccupy him, off and on..... More about Light and life. Address delivered at the opening meeting of the International Congress on Light...
Item #3792

Rotterdam: Arnoldi Leers, 1669. An early Latin edition of the ‘New Experiments Physico-Mechanical, Touching the Spring of the Air’ – Boyle’s first scientific work in which he first formulated the famous law for gases named after him. ❧Fulton 22; ref. PMM 143; Dibner 142; Fulton 14; Norman 300 (the last... More about Nova experimenta physico-mechanica de vi aeris elastica & ejusdem effectibus, facta maximam...
Item #3354

Cambridge: University Press, 1913. First edition, journal issue, of this epoch-making paper, which introduced “Bragg’s law” of X-ray crystallography. “The importance of this work cannot be overstated, for it heralded a revolution in the scientific understanding of crystals and their atomic arrangements. This discovery led to many of the most..... More about The diffraction of short electromagnetic waves by a crystal
Item #4549

Venedig: Misserino, 1609. First edition, exceptionally rare, of Casserius’ second important contribution to the comparative anatomy not only of the ear and the vocal organs, as in his more common work of 1600/01 [De Vocis Auditusque Organis], but also of the other four sense organs and especially of the eye... More about Pentaestheseion, hoc est De quinque sensibus liber, organorum fabricam variis iconibus fideliter...
Item #3840

Manchester: S. Russell for R. Bickerstaff; Russell & Allen for R. Bickerstaff; Executives of S. Russell for G. Wilson, 1808-1810-1827. First edition of Dalton’s classic work on the atomic theory of matter, very rare when complete with all three parts in the original boards with the original printed spine labels..... More about A New System of Chemical Philosophy
Item #3950

London: John Murray, 1868. First edition, first issue, presentation copy, trimmed for presentation and with a slip of paper with inscription “From the Author” in Darwin’s hand pasted to the front free endpaper. The term “survival of the fittest” (borrowed at Wallace’s insistence from Herbert Spencer’s 1866 Principles of Biology)..... More about The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication
Item #4100

Paris: chez Henry Le Gras, au troisième pilier de la grand’ Salle du Palais, à L couronnée, 1649. First edition, of Descartes’s important psychological treatise, one of his most influential works, and the last work published before his death in the following year. This copy made its way to England..... More about Les passions de l’ame
Item #4536

Venice: Vincentius Luchinus excudebat, 1564. First edition, very rare, of one of the most important of all anatomical books. It includes the first specific treatise on the kidney, the first account of the Eustachian tube in the ear, the first description of the thoracic duct, and the Eustachian valve, as... More about Opuscula anatomica
Item #3555