The Napier Tercentenary Memorial Volume
by Knott, Cargill Gilston, (edit.)
- Used
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Very Good Minus
- Seller
-
Newburyport, Massachusetts, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Published for the Royal Society of Edinburgh by Longmans, Green and Company, 1915 Hard cover, in cream colored cloth, with gilt insignia of the Napier family to center front, and gilt title to spine, 15 plates, 441 pp. Printer's colophon at rear:" T. and A. Constable, Printers to His Majesty, at Edinburgh University Press." Ex-library. Maroon red endpapers coordinate nicely with the frontispiece portrait of John Napier, Baron of Merchiston in color, reproduced from a painting owned by the University of Edinburgh. Engraved library bookplate and two blindstamps are among the front matter; also an inked stamp with collection notation in pen. Condition: Very Good. Edges, especially top edge, are a bit dusty, and there is slight soiling to the cream colored exterior, a bit of darkening to the spine.Some mild crimping to head and foot of spine. Corners are minimally rubbed. Light age-toning to the text, with offset to half title page. Slight offset to title page from frontispiece portrait.*** Sir John Napier, Baron of Merchiston (1550-1617), is here described by David Hume as "the person to whom the title of great man is more justly due than to any other whom his country ever produced," in the biographical essay on his life and significance by P.Hume Brown. The inaugural address written by Lord Moulton, which was given at the opening of an international Congress in Edinburgh in 1914, provides some salient highlights of Napier's extraordinary career. The Scottish Renaissance polymath, while most notable for contributions to mathematics, also wrote a work on the Apocalypse, was suspected of black magic, and devised a mirrored device to set fire to enemy ships. There follow numerous other essays on the foundational nature of his 1614 work" Mirifici Logarithmorum Canonis Descriptio" where the invention of logarithms, decimal fractions and the calculation of spheres are addressed, in addition to his influence on the development of later calculating machines. The book was accompanied by an exhibition held at the Royal Society of Edinburgh, just at the outbreak of the first World War, and a separate volume accompanied the objects in museum exhibit. The 1889 translation of William Rae Macdonald's "The Construction of the Wonderful Canon of Logarithms by John Napier, Baron of Merchiston. Translated into English from Latin…" (1889) is liberally quoted from. [Note: We have the author's own copy of that work available in our listing No. FINE8610, presented in a unique fine binding done by Macdonald's wife, Annie S. Macdonald] OCLC 718111010. Hard Cover. Very Good Minus.
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Details
- Seller
- Dark and Stormy Night Books (US)
- Seller's Inventory #
- 8616
- Title
- The Napier Tercentenary Memorial Volume
- Author
- Knott, Cargill Gilston, (edit.)
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good Minus
- Publisher
- Published for the Royal Society of Edinburgh by Longmans, Green and Company
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1915
Terms of Sale
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About the Seller
Dark and Stormy Night Books
Biblio member since 2005
Newburyport, Massachusetts
About Dark and Stormy Night Books
Now in our eighteenth year, Dark and Stormy Night Books is an online bookstore,
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selling Rare, Antiquarian and "other interesting finds" to individuals and institutions around the world. Some of our books are now housed among the world's leading libraries and collections.
We work to promote the significance of a wide variety of ideas, from whatever era they might originate. We celebrate, and work to preserve, the artistry of the printed page, the handwritten word, and the craftsmanship of the hand-made object in today's virtual, digital world.
Sign up for our occasional catalogues/newsletters!
Visit our website: darkandstormynightbooks.com
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Colophon
- The colophon contains information about a book's publisher, the typesetting, printer, and possibly even includes a printer's...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Half Title
- The blank front page which appears just prior to the title page, and typically contains only the title of the book, although, at...
- Device
- Especially for older books, a printer's device refers to an identifying mark, also sometimes called a printer's mark, on the...
- Fine Binding
- An elaborate and decorative binding, example including a leather-bound book with gilt edges, raised blind stamps, raised ribs,...
- Offset
- A technique of printing where the inked image or text is ...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...