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[MATHEMATICS - THE FIRST WOMAN MATHEMATICIAN]. Instituzioni analitiche, ad usi della gioventù italiana

[MATHEMATICS - THE FIRST WOMAN MATHEMATICIAN]. Instituzioni analitiche, ad usi della gioventù italiana by Agnesi, Maria Gaetana

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Seller: Michael Laird Rare Books LLC
Title
[MATHEMATICS - THE FIRST WOMAN MATHEMATICIAN]. Instituzioni analitiche, ad usi della gioventù italiana
Author
Agnesi, Maria Gaetana
Seller
Michael Laird Rare Books LLC (United States)
Condition
Very good
Description
Milan: Regia-Ducal Corte, 1748. First Edition. Very good. Two vols., thick quarto. COMPLETE: [10] ff. (including title-page, dedication, letter to the reader, Imprimatur, and Table of Contents), 428 pp., [1] f. errata + 35 engraved plates (numbered 1-35); [1] f. (title), pp. 431-1020 pp., [1] f. errata, 2 folding letterpress tables, with 17 + 6 + 1 plates for a total of 59 engraved plates. Copperplate vignettes on title-pages, headpiece vignette, and two initials engraved by Marc'Antonio Del Re. Contemporary Italian mottled calf, new spines sympathetically gold-tooled and lettered direct, edges sprinkled red, comb-marbled endpapers. TOGETHER WITH: a copy of the separately printed 4-page "Extrait" report on the work ordered by the Academy Royale des Sciences (see below). AN OUTSTANDING COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION IN EXTREMELY FRESH STATE, THE PAPER CRISP AND PERFECTLY CLEAN, AND WITH A SIGNIFICANT PROVENANCE. THIS WORK WAS IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZED AS A MASTERPIECE OF MATHEMATICAL ANALYSIS, AS IS ATTESTED BY THE 1749 REPORT OF THE WORK ORDERED BY THE FRENCH ROYAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, OF WHICH A RARE OFFPRINT ACCOMPANIES THE PRESENT OFFERING. This is the first major work of mathematics published by a woman, Maria Gaetana Agnesi, the "Mathematician of God." DSB justly describes here as "the first woman in the Western world who can accurately be called a mathematician." After a decade of painstaking scholarship, Agnesi's "Instituzioni analitiche" was published in 1748 and was immediately heralded throughout Europe as a completely original approach to the integrated and comprehensible treatment of algebra and mathematical analysis. Written "for the youth of Italy," Agnesi's work was quite simply the best introduction to the interrelationship of integral and differential calculus. Her "Instituzioni analitiche" is at the same time a manual for the dissemination of the new infinitesimal calculus, and exposes the elements of algebra, algebraic equations, plane analytical geometry, differential and integral calculus, series developments, and first and second degree differential equations, as well as the treatment of plane curves (see below). The importance of this work is attested by complete translations into French (1775) under the Privilege of the Académie Royale des Sciences, and English (1801) under the guidance of John Colson. Writing in 1873, Pietro Riccardi, the great bibliographer of the history of mathematics in Italy, pronounced the "Instituzioni analitiche" as "one of the first and most complete treatises on finite and infinitesimal analysis" (translation ours). It is curious that our author's name is most frequently associated with a special type of cubic plane curve now known as the "Witch of Agnesi," a mistranslation (by John Colson) of her colloquial Italian term "versiera" (for "sailing sheet") as "witch." Despite its misnomer, the so-called "Witch of Agnesi" (and its name) continues to be applied in the analysis of contemporary probability distribution, numeral analysis, spectral energy distribution, topographic mathematical modeling, infinite series, and more. This "Witch of Agnese" curve is here illustrated in Vol. I, Tav. XXVIII (fig. 135) and described by Agnesi on pp. 380-382. Born in Milan in 1718, Maria Gaetana Agnesi was the daughter of a mathematics professor at the University of Bologna who was encouraged by her father to undertake the study of science. Her "Instituzioni analitiche" was celebrated by mathematicians and natural philosophers in Britain and on the continent. Benedict XIV appointed her professor of the University of Bologna, but she declined to take the position and instead turned her attention to theology and a life of quiet reflection and charity. Agnesi was the second woman to be offered an official university teaching position (the first being Laura Bassi, for which see below). Intensely pious from an early age, Agnesi effectively abandoned her mathematical career and devoted herself to the poor and the sick. In order to reduce their misery, she sold her worldly possessions and begged for their food and her own until the end of her days. She died indigent in 1799 and was buried in a mass pauper's grave into which were laid fifteen other corpses. Such was the fate of this astonishing individual who has recently been termed "the Mathematician of God." (Massimo Mazzotti, "‭The World of Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Mathematician of God‭," Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007)‬. "Despite being a remarkable woman for her time, Agnesi's reputation as a mathematician has suffered for three reasons. First, because of Colson's error [see above]; second because of preconceptions that women are incapable of the abstract thinking necessary for mathematics; and finally, because many believe that Agnesi did not make an original contribution to her field. According to Massimo Mazzotti, these gender stereotypes have prevented the rehabilitation of Agnesi's reputation. Contemporaries characterized her as a 'child prodigy with masculine skills and feminine virtues such as modesty and seclusion.'‭ ‬Agnesi's decision to withdraw ‬from mathematics on the death of her father in 1735 and devote the rest of her life to charity and faith, as well as to writing works of devotion, meant that her mathematical career ended prematurely. Thus, she has been remembered more for her religious works -- more acceptably authored by a woman -- than for her contributions to mathematics." (Leigh Whaleyon, "Networks, Patronage and Women of Science during the Italian Enlightenment" in: Early Modern Women 10:2, Spring 2016, pp. 188-197). TOGETHER WITH: The very rare 4-page Report on the work by prominent mathematicians J.-J. Dortous de Mairan and E.M. de Montigny (6 December 1749), written by order of the French Academy of Sciences. The authors were rich in praise, and recommended that a French translation of Agnesi's "Instituzioni analitiche" be undertaken. DSB explains: In 1749 an academy committee recorded its opinion [i.e. in THE PRESENT OFFPRINT]: 'This work is characterized by its careful organization, its clarity, and its precision. There is no other book, in any language, which would enable a reader to penetrate as deeply, or as rapidly, into the fundamental concepts of analysis. We consider this treatise the most complete and best written work of its kind.'" The printing of the present offprint was authorized by Grandjean Defouchy, Secretaire perpetuel of the Academy. SELECTED REFERENCES: Parkinson, Breakthroughs p. 165. Honeyman 20. Riccardi I, (1)8. F. Govi. I classici che hanno fatto l'Italia (Modena, 2010) 237. Ron Meltzer, "Maria Gaetana Agnesi" in: Extraordinary Women in Science & Medicine, exhibition catalogue (The Grolier Club, 2013) pp. 72-75, nos. 66-70, with reproduction. SELECTED LITERATURE: A. Cupillari, Biography of Maria Gaetana Agnesi, an Eighteenth-Century Woman Mathematician (Lewiston, New York, 2007), passim. See the long entry on Agnesi in DSB (I, 75; the "Witch of Agnesi" curve has its own separate entry). Clara Silvia Roero, "M.G. Agnesi, R. Rampinelli and the Riccati family: A Cultural Fellowship Formed for an Important Scientific Purpose, the 'Instituzioni analitiche'" in: Historia Mathematica 42:3 (August 2015), pp. 296-314, with numerous references. Marta Cavazza, "Between Modesty and Spectacle: Women and Science in Eighteenth-Century Italy" in: Italy's Eighteenth Century: Gender and Culture in the Age of the Grand Tour (Paula Findlen, ed.), 2009, pp. 275-302. PROVENANCE: Both volumes bear an early ownership inscription in Italian on the first blank leaves: "Capi[tan]o Bassi nel Reg[giment]o Konigseeg (sic) Infant[eri]a." This Captain Bassi individual has resisted identification, but Königsegg was a small statelet in what is now Baden-Württemberg. It has not escaped our notice that his last name is identical to that of Laura Bassi (1711-1778), celebrated Bolognese polymath and Newton's great champion in Italy. With great fanfare and even celebrations in the streets, Bassi was one of the first women to earn a doctoral degree from a university, and the very first woman to be appointed as a salaried university professor. -- Dr. James M. Vaughn (1939-2022), Houston philanthropist who assembled the finest mathematics collection ever formed by a private individual: 125 rare and foundational books in the history of mathematics were donated by him to the Harry Ransom Center in 2021, including what is undoubtedly the finest copy of the first edition of Newton's "Principia" (inscribed: "Ex dono Autoris"). Our volume formed part of Vaughn's private collection and was sold to us by his estate. Dr. Vaughn funded the Mathematical Association of America and helped support the solution of the 300-year-old math puzzle known as "Fermat's Last Theorum." With J.M.V. bookplate in both volumes.
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The Principles of Population and Their Connection to Human Happiness, 2 vols. by Alison, A

7 to 9 days for delivery
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$375.00
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Seller: Palinurus Antiquarian Books
Title
The Principles of Population and Their Connection to Human Happiness, 2 vols.
Author
Alison, A
Seller
Palinurus Antiquarian Books (United States)
Condition
A very good copy; front hinge of vol. 2 is split.; some occasional light spotting.
Description
Edinburgh: W Blackwood, 1840. First Edition.. Original cloth backed boards and paper labels.. A very good copy; front hinge of vol. 2 is split.; some occasional light spotting.. 8vo. A very interesting book that is little known. Alison produced this book over a 20 yr. period and then delayed its publication. It is an attempt to provide a solution for poverty (much of the vol. 2 is devoted to the poor law). He proposes social programs to raise the standard of living and social mobility that will eventually bring about a decline in the birth rate. He is an advocate for the poor and prescient in his descriptions of where society was heading in the new industrial age. Kress C - 5068; see Schumpeter p. 584.
[YEARBOOKS] [VIRGINIA]. THE COMPASS. GEORGE WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL. ALEXANDRIA. FIVE YEARS: 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955

[YEARBOOKS] [VIRGINIA]. THE COMPASS. GEORGE WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL. ALEXANDRIA. FIVE YEARS: 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955

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Seller: Black Swan Books, Inc.
Title
[YEARBOOKS] [VIRGINIA]. THE COMPASS. GEORGE WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL. ALEXANDRIA. FIVE YEARS: 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955
Seller
Black Swan Books, Inc. (United States)
Description
1955. Five year books -- THE COMPASS --from George Washington High School in Alexandria Virginia covering 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954 & 1955. Typically bound in leatherette. These year books are heavily annotated by the owner’s friends and teachers -- with such encouraging sayings as “You are a good girl. Stick with it!”; and “Roses are red | Violets are blue | You are sweet | and cute too”; and reminiscences: “To a real cute & sweet girl. Always remember the swell time we had a Nannette’s slumber party” or (perhaps) suggestively, “When you are old | and have gray hair | Remember the nights | at the Open Air” (which we surmise to be a drive-in movie theater).~~True period pieces -- high school aged boomers in the first half of the 1950’s.
The Chess Amateur Volume I

The Chess Amateur Volume I by Chess Amateur

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$100.00
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Seller: The Book Collector ABAA, ILAB, TBA
Title
The Chess Amateur Volume I
Author
Chess Amateur
Seller
The Book Collector ABAA, ILAB, TBA (United States)
Condition
Good to Very Good
Description
viii+382 pages with diagrams, tables and index. Royal octavo (9 1/2" x 7") bound in original green cloth with gilt lettering to spine and cover. Volume I, twelve issues, published from October 1907 to September 1908. (Betts: 7-54) First edition.No principal editor is given in the text; various regular contributors. The Chess Amateur ran for 24 volumes from October 1906 to June 1930, each volume running from October until the following September except the final volume 24 which ceased after 9 issues. This important and successful periodical was published by Harry Harmer in Stroud until September 1913 and then by Stroud News Publishing Co. Surprisingly no main editor is named (possibly Harry Harmer himself in the early years) but there were many section editors and contributors notably Carslake Winter-Wood, Rhoda A Bowles, Philip H Williams who conducted the problem pages for many years, Alain C White, T R Dawson (a major contributor), Rev. E E Cunnington, W Moffatt, I Gunsberg and W A Fairhurst. No more published after June 30 1930.Condition:Corners bumped and rubbed, previous owner's name on front end paper and paste down, errata for page tipped into page 177 for page 176, spine ends chipped and rubbed, split at hinge, inner hinges cracked. Internally very good binding good.
MULES / I will be at the following places / to buy mules: LINDEN, Thursday, Jan. 24, 1907; / LOBELVILLE, Friday, Jan. 25, 1907; CENTREVILLE, Sat., Jan. 26, 1907. / [complete text]. Signed in type at the end “W. B. Burnett.”

MULES / I will be at the following places / to buy mules: LINDEN, Thursday, Jan. 24, 1907; / LOBELVILLE, Friday, Jan. 25, 1907; CENTREVILLE, Sat., Jan. 26, 1907. / [complete text]. Signed in type at the end “W. B. Burnett.”

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Seller: Bartlebys Books
Title
MULES / I will be at the following places / to buy mules: LINDEN, Thursday, Jan. 24, 1907; / LOBELVILLE, Friday, Jan. 25, 1907; CENTREVILLE, Sat., Jan. 26, 1907. / [complete text]. Signed in type at the end “W. B. Burnett.”
Seller
Bartlebys Books (United States)
Description
NP: Burnett, 1907. Printed handbill, 9 7/8 x 7 ¼ inches, the first line printed in large (2 inches) bold capitals. The first two towns are in Perry County, the third in neighboring Hickman. Not recorded on OCLC. Tear from bottom edge, not affecting text (repaired with tape verso), paper browned. Good copy.
A VANISHED WORLD

A VANISHED WORLD by Thesiger, Wilfred

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$60.00
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Seller: Second Story Books, ABAA
Title
A VANISHED WORLD
Author
Thesiger, Wilfred
Seller
Second Story Books, ABAA (United States)
ISBN
9780393050868
Description
New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2001. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. Quarto, 189 pages. In Very Good condition with a Very Good dust jacket. Spine is cream with black lettering. Dust jacket is protected with a mylar covering, price uncut: "$35.00." Bumping to head and tail of dust jacket spine. Mild soiling to dust jacket spine. Mild bumping to corners of dust jacket. Mild soiling to dust jacket covers. Mild age-toning to dust jacket covers. Bumping to head and tail of spine. Text block clean. Shelved in African Photography. 1412736. Shelved Dupont Bookstore.
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The Collection of the Garden Ltd. Magnificent Books and Manuscripts

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$60.00
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Seller: Books Tell You Why, Inc.
Title
The Collection of the Garden Ltd. Magnificent Books and Manuscripts
Seller
Books Tell You Why, Inc. (United States)
Condition
Fine
Description
New York: Sotheby's. Fine. 1989. Cloth. A Fine edition ; Price? ? ? .
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Lee Woon-Sik Sculpture Exhibition by Yil, Lee with Enzo Santes and Lodovico Gierut

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$29.97
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Seller: Mullen Books, Inc. ABAA / ILAB
Title
Lee Woon-Sik Sculpture Exhibition
Author
Yil, Lee with Enzo Santes and Lodovico Gierut
Seller
Mullen Books, Inc. ABAA / ILAB (United States)
Condition
VG
Description
Seoul, South Korea: Dong-Soong Gallery, 1992. Softbound. VG. Black glossy wraps. about 48 pp., profusely illustrated in color and bw. Includes three essays, all in Korean, English, and Italian. Wonderful illustrations. Beautiful sculptures of the Korean artist who works in bronze and Italian marble. Includes a chronology and artist's statement, also in 3 languages.
JULIE OR THE ROSE

JULIE OR THE ROSE by Apollinaire, Guillaume; Chris Tysh; George Tysh

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$25.00
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Seller: Brian Cassidy Bookseller at Type Punch Matrix
Title
JULIE OR THE ROSE
Author
Apollinaire, Guillaume; Chris Tysh; George Tysh
Seller
Brian Cassidy Bookseller at Type Punch Matrix (United States)
ISBN
9780856821028
Condition
Near fine.
Description
Kent: Transgravity, 1978. Near fine.. First edition thus, rescued from obscurity by Ron Padgett. These poems were published in C in the original French with a translation competition attached. This publication is a result of the translation contest. Wraps. 8vo. Publisher's printed wraps. Near fine with only slight edgewear and spine lightly toned.

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