Books

147 woodcut diagrams in the text. 6 p.l., 196 leaves. Small folio (272 x 190 mm.), contemporary Parisian binding of light brown calf (very skillful restorations to the binding), panelled in blind with gilt fleurons in the corners, gilt floral tool in the center of each cover of a hand holding flowers, small gilt stars in the six compartments of spine. Nuremberg: J. Petreius, 1543. First edition, and a very fine and crisp copy, of "the earliest of the three books of science that most clarified the relationship of man and his universe (along with Newton's Principia and Darwin's Origin of Species)" - Dibner, Heralds of Science, 3. This work is the foundation of the heliocentric theory of the planetary system and the most important scientific text of the 16th century. This is the seventh or eighth copy I have handled over the past 39 years. How does it compare to the others? Quite nicely. First of all, this is one of the largest copies extant; simply, this copy is really big. Also, I have had only one other copy in a 16th-century binding (Census I.245). Our binding, while carefully and skillfully repaired, is a very beautiful contemporary Parisian example; the tool of a hand holding flowers in the center of each cover is very similar to the one used on many of Marcus Fugger's plain calf bindings. It is a lovely tool in general use by the Paris binders of the period 1550-1560. The endpapers have been renewed but they are not offensive. There is a small early erasure of an ownership inscription on the title just slightly touching the "D." in the date. The first six leaves have some light dampstaining but it is pale. Provenance: At the foot of the title-page, another early signature has been thoroughly lined through. 17th- or 18th-century ownership inscription on title: "Collegii Parisiensis Societatis Jesu." - Bookplate of Gustavus Wynne Cook (1867-1940, amateur astronomer, collector, and benefactor of the Franklin Institute). - Franklin Institute Library bookplate. - Sold Sotheby Parke-Bernet, New York, 2 November 1977, lot 85, to the British Railway Pension Fund (a famously selective buyer). - Purchased by Pierre Béres at Sotheby's London, 21 October 1980 and sold to a prominent Spanish private collector. A very large, fresh, and crisp copy (the leaves "crackle"). Preserved in a morocco-backed box. Collation as in Horblit; some copies - about 20 per cent according to Prof. Gingerich - contain an errata leaf printed separately and later. Evans, Epochal Achievements in the History of Science, 15. Gingerich, An Annotated Census of Copernicus' De Revolutionibus, Madrid 7. Gingerich, Rara Astronomica, 16. Horblit 18b. Printing & the Mind of Man 70 - "a landmark in human thought. It challenged the authority of antiquity and set the course for the modern world by its effective destruction of the anthropocentric view of the universe." Sparrow, Milestones of Science, 40. Zinner 1819 & p. 42.

Nicolaus Copernicus' groundbreaking work on heliocentrism is encapsulated in his seminal book "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium" (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres). This work, published in 1543, marked a significant departure from the geocentric model that had dominated astronomical thought for centuries. Copernicus proposed that the Sun, rather than the Earth, was at the center of the universe, with the Earth and other planets revolving around it. "De revolutionibus" begins with seven axioms outlining the heliocentric theory. These include the notions that the Earth rotates daily on its axis and revolves annually around the Sun. Copernicus provided detailed mathematical proofs and astronomical observations to support his heliocentric model. He described the motions of the planets more accurately than the Ptolemaic system, which placed the Earth at the center. While still using some elements of the Ptolemaic system, like epicycles, Copernicus significantly simplified the complex system of planetary motions. The publication of "De revolutionibus" is often considered the starting point of the Scientific Revolution. It fundamentally changed the way humanity understood the cosmos and our place within it. Initially, the book did not cause a major stir, but eventually, the Catholic Church condemned it, placing it on the Index of Forbidden Books in 1616 due to its contradiction with the geocentric view supported by the Church. Despite this, Copernicus' heliocentric theory paved the way for later astronomers like Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei, who further developed and provided more evidence for the heliocentric model. The book is divided into six parts. Book I outlines the heliocentric theory and provides a general explanation of the universe. Book II covers the principles of spherical astronomy as a basis for the heliocentric theory. Book III discusses the precession of the equinoxes and the apparent motion of the Sun. Book IV focuses on the Moon and its motion. Book V examines the motions of the planets, including retrograde motion. Finally, Book VI discusses the order of the planets and the orbit of the Earth, as well as an explanation of the various phenomena observed from Earth. Nicolaus Copernicus' "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium" was a groundbreaking work that challenged the long-held geocentric model of the universe. By placing the Sun at the center and describing the motions of the planets around it, Copernicus laid the foundation for modern astronomy and the scientific revolution. His work fundamentally altered humanity's understanding of the cosmos and set the stage for future astronomical discoveries. This work is now rare and highly valuable.