[London: Macmillan, 1939]. First edition, extremely rare offprint, of the discovery of nuclear fission, a process which had been observed by Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann the previous year but for which they were unable to provide an explanation. “In the late 1930s, a series of experiments showed that bombarding..... More
Item #5323

Leipzig: E.W. Fritzsch, 1872. First edition in exceptionally rare original publisher's cloth binding. This copy previously handled by Bill Schaberg: "When I wrote The Nietzsche Canon: A Publication History and Bibliography (The University of Chicago Press, 1995), I had never even heard of these cloth copies of Nietzsche’s first book..... More
Item #4535

Paris: for the author, 1588. First edition, in a beautiful contemporary binding, of one of the most famous illustrated books of the sixteenth century and a landmark in book design. “The military engineer Agostino Ramelli produced a remarkable illustrated book in 1588 describing a large number of machines that he..... More
Item #5502

Nuremberg: Anton Koberger for Sebald Schreyer, July 12, 1493. First edition, and a remarkable wide-margined complete copy, preserved in its original binding bearing the city of Vienna’s coat of arms, of the first illustrated encyclopedia. Published in 1493, at the dawn of the discovery period, in Nuremberg by Europe’s largest..... More
Item #5643

Basel: Johannes Oporinus, 1543. First edition, first issue, of the work that not only revolutionised the understanding of anatomy, but can be said to mark the beginning of modern science. “The work of Andreas Vesalius of Brussels constitutes one of the greatest treasures of Western civilization and culture. His masterpiece..... More
Item #5491

St. Albans: Fisher, Knight & Co., 1953. First edition, offprint, signed by Watson, Crick, Wilkins, Gosling, Stokes & Wilson, i.e. six of the seven authors. We know of no copy signed by Franklin, and strongly doubt that any such copy exists. Furthermore this copy is, what we believe to be..... More
Item #5470