Isaac Newton's Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica; The Third Edition (1726) with Variant Readings
[Cambridge, Massachusetts]: Harvard University Press, 1972. First Harvard University Press edition. Hardcover. 2 vol. Folio. [4], v-xl, [2], 1-547, [3]; [7], 548-916 pp. Black cloth with silver lettering on the spine. Illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of Isaac Newton, taken from the 1726 edition of Newton's Principia. Also illustrated with 67 in-text diagrams, from the original editions. The text and illustrations are reproduced here from the first three published editions of Newton’s Principia. Assembled and edited by Alexandre Koyré and I. Bernard Cohen with the assistance of Anne Whitman. Pressler, Printing in the Mind of Man (PMM) 96. According to PMM, "The Principia is generally described as the greatest work in the history of science ... [providing] the great synthesis of the cosmos, proving finally its physical unity". Newton's work provided the last blow to the Aristotelian view of the universe, present and dominant through the medieval period and into the Renaissance. The book was a great catalyst for the Scientific Revolution. This edition allows the reader to see how Newton's work evolved over time, from the manuscript draft of the first edition between 1685 and 1687 to the release of the third edition in 1726. The textual variations are displayed, with other variant readings taken from surviving manuscripts. The front flap refers to this publication as a photographic reprint of the third edition, with the variant readings from the seven other sources at the bottom of each page. Thus the reader can easily observe Newton's changes. The appendices provide a bibliography of the Principia, information on the contributions of Roger Cotes and Henry Pemberton, and a complete table of contents for the third edition. A beautiful example of this important and comprehensive edition of one of the great works of science. Near Fine / Near Fine. Item #000013920
A private person's stamp on the front pastedown of each volume; a small blemish to volume one's jacket's front panel.
Price: $650.00