• Source: Antiquarian science books

      • Antiquarian science books are original historical works (e.g., books or technical papers) concerning science, mathematics and sometimes engineering. These books are important primary references for the study of the history of science and technology, they can provide valuable insights into the historical development of the various fields of scientific inquiry (History of science, History of mathematics, etc.)

      The landmark are significant first (or early) editions typically worth hundreds or thousands of dollars (prices may vary widely based on condition, etc.).
      Reprints of these books are often available, for example from Great Books of the Western World, Dover Publications or Google Books.
      Incunabula are extremely rare and valuable, but as the "scientific revolution" is only taken to have started around the 1540s, such works of Renaissance literature (including alchemy, Renaissance magic, etc.) are not usually included under the notion of "scientific" literature. Printed originals of the beginning scientific revolution thus date to the 1540s or later, notably beginning with the original publication of Copernican heliocentrism. Nicolaus Copernicus' De revolutionibus orbium coelestium of 1543 sold for more than US$2 million at auctions.


      List of notable books




      = 16th century

      =
      Tartaglia, Niccolò. Nova Scientia (A New Science). Venice, 1537. Ballistics.
      Biringuccio, Vannoccio. De la pirotechnia. Venice, 1540. Metallurgy.
      Fuchs, Leonhart. De Historia Stirpium Commentarii Insignes. Basel, 1542. Botany.
      Copernicus, Nicolaus. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium. Wittenberg, 1543. Copernican heliocentrism.
      Vesalius, Andreas. De humani corporis fabrica (On the Structure of the Human Body). Basel, 1543. Anatomy.
      Cardano, Gerolamo. Artis magnae sive de regulis algebraicis (The Art of Solving Algebraic Equations). Nuremberg, 1545. Algebra.
      Brunfels, Otto. Kreuterbüch, 1546. Botany.
      Gessner, Conrad. Historia Animalium 1551-58. Zoology
      Bock, Hieronymus. Kreutterbuch. Strasbourg, 1552. Botany.
      Paracelsus. Theil der grossen Wundartzney. Frankfurt, 1556. Medicine.
      Agricola, Georgius. De re metallica. Basel, 1561. Mineralogy.
      Regiomontanus. De triangulis planis et sphaericis libri quinque. Basel, 1561. Trigonometry.
      Bombelli, Rafael. Algebra. 1569/1572. Imaginary numbers.
      Cesalpino, Andrea. De plantis libri XVI. 1583. Taxonomy.
      Bruno, Giordano. De l'infinito, universo e mondi. 1584 Cosmology.
      Stevin, Simon. De Thiende. 1585. Decimal numeral system.
      Stevin, Simon. De Beghinselen der Weeghconst. 1586. Statics.
      Brahe, Tycho. Astronomiae Instauratae Progymnasmata. 1588. Astronomy.
      Viète, François. In artem analyticam isagoge (Introduction to the Analytical Art). Tours, 1591. Algebra.
      Ruini, Carlo. Anatomia del Cavallo. Venice, 1598. Veterinary medicine.


      = 17th century

      =
      Gilbert, William. De Magnete. London, 1600 Magnetism
      Galilei, Galileo. Sidereus Nuncius (The Starry Messenger). Frankfurt, 1610. Astronomy
      Napier, John. Mirifici Logarithmorum Canonis Descriptio, 1614. Logarithms
      Kepler, Johannes. Harmonices Mundi. Linz, 1619. Celestial mechanics
      Bacon, Francis. Novum Organum. London, 1620. Experimentation
      Galilei, Galileo. Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo Tolemaico, e Coperniciano. Florence, 1632. Heliocentrism
      Descartes, René. Discours de la Methode / La Geometrie. Leiden, 1637 Analytical geometry
      Fermat, Pierre de. Methodus ad disquirendam maximam et minimam, 1638. Calculus
      Galilei, Galileo. Discorsi e dimostrazioni matematiche, intorno a due nuove scienze. Leiden, 1638. Classical dynamics
      Desargues, Gérard. Brouillon-project d'une atteinte aux evenemens des rencontres du cone avec un plan, 1639. Projective geometry.
      Harvey, William. Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus (Anatomical Exercises, Concerning the Heart and Blood) London, 1653. Circulatory system
      Wallis, John. Arithmetica infinitorum, 1655. Calculus
      Boyle, Robert. The Sceptical Chymist. London, 1661. Chemistry
      Pascal, Blaise. Traitez de l'Equilibre des Liqueurs, et de la Pesanteur de la Masse de l'Air. Paris, 1663. Fluid statics
      Gregory, James. Optica Promota, 1663. Optics
      Hooke, Robert. Micrographia. London, 1665. Microscopy
      Steno, Nicolas. De Solido intra Solidum Naturaliter Contento Dissertationis Prodromus. Florence, 1669. Stratigraphy
      Barrow, Isaac. Lectiones geometricae, 1670. Calculus
      von Guericke, Otto. Experimenta Nova (ut vocantur) Magdeburgica de Vacuo Spatio. Magdeburger Halbkugeln, 1672. Experimental physics
      Huygens, Christiaan. Horologium Oscillatorium. Paris, 1673. Pendulus.
      Fermat, Pierre de. Ad locus planos et solidos isagoge, 1679. Analytic geometry
      Leibniz, Gottfried. Nova Methodus pro Maximis et Minimis, 1684. Calculus
      Newton, Isaac. Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica. London, 3 Vol, 1687. Classical mechanics
      Huygens, Christiaan. Traité de la Lumière. Leiden, 1690. Optics
      Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm. Specimen Dynamicum. Vienna, 1695. Classical mechanics
      van Leeuwenhoek, Antonie. Arcana Naturae, Ope & Beneficio Exquisitissimorum Microscopiorum. Leiden, 1696. Microbiology
      l'Hôpital, Guillaume de. Analyse des infiniment petits. Paris, 1696. Calculus


      = 18th century

      =
      Newton, Isaac (England). Opticks. London, 1704. Optics
      Taylor, Brook (England). Methodus Incrementorum Directa et Inversa, 1715. Taylor series
      Linnaeus, Carl (Sweden). Systema Naturae. Netherlands, 1735. Linnaean taxonomy
      Bernoulli, Daniel (Netherlands). Hydrodynamica. Strasbourg, 1738, Fluid dynamics
      d'Alembert, Jean le Rond (France). Réflexions sur la cause générale des vents, 1747. Complex numbers
      Euler, Leonhard (Switzerland). Introductio in analysin infinitorum. Lausanne, 1748. Mathematical analysis
      Franklin, Benjamin (America). Experiments and Observations on Electricity. London/Philadelphia, 1751. Electricity
      Bayes, Thomas (England). An Essay Towards Solving a Problem in the Doctrine of Chances. London, 1763. Inverse probability
      Volta, Alessandro (Italy). De vi attractiva ignis electrici, ac phaenomenis inde pendentibus, 1769. Electricity
      Smith, Adam (Scotland). An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. London, 2 Vol, 1776. Capitalism
      Monge, Gaspard (France). Sur la théorie des déblais et des remblais, 1781. Descriptive geometry.
      Lagrange, Joseph (Italy). Mécanique analytique. Paris, 1788. Dynamics
      Hutton, James (Scotland). Theory of the Earth. Edinburgh, 1788. Geology
      Lavoisier, Antoine (France). Traité Élémentaire de Chimie (Elements of Chemistry). Paris, 2 Vol, 1789. Chemistry
      Galvani, Luigi (Italy). De viribus electricitatis in motu musculari commentarius Bologna, 1791. Electricity
      Legendre, Adrien-Marie (France). Essai sur la théorie des nombres. Paris, 1798. Number theory
      Jenner, Edward (England). An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolæ Vaccinæ. 1798. Immunology
      Wessel, Caspar (Norway). Om directionens analytiske betegning. Copenhagen, 1799. Imaginary numbers
      Ruffini, Paolo (Italy). Teoria generale dele equazioni, in cui si dimostra impossibile. La soluzione algebraica delle equazioni generali di grado superiore al quatro. Bologna, 1799. Algebra


      = 19th century

      =
      Gauss, Carl Friedrich (Germany). Disquisitiones Arithmeticae. Leipzig, 1801. Number theory
      Young, Thomas (England). Experiments and Calculations Relative to Physical Optics, 1803. Light
      Argand, Jean-Robert (Switzerland). Essai sur une maniere de representer les quantities imaginaries dans les constructions geometriques, 1806. Imaginary numbers.
      Dalton, John (England). A New System of Chemical Philosophy. London, 1808. Atomic theory
      Berzelius, Jöns Jacob (Sweden). Läroboken i kemien, 1808. Chemistry
      Cayley, George (England). On Aerial Navigation. Brompton, 3 Vol, 1809. Aeronautics.
      Ørsted, Hans Christian (Denmark). Experimenta circa effectum conflictus electrici in acum magneticam. Copenhagen, 1820. Electromagnetism.
      Fourier, Joseph (France). Théorie Analytique de la Chaleur. Paris, 1822. Fourier series.
      Fresnel, Augustin-Jean (France). Mémoire Sur Un Nouveau Système D'Éclairage Des Phares Lu À L'Académie Des Sciences. Paris, 1822. Wave optics
      Babbage, Charles (England). Mr. Babbage's invention: Application of machinery to the purpose of calculating and printing mathematical tables. London, 1823. Computing
      Lobachevsky, Nikolai (Russia). Geometriya. 1823. Non-Euclidean geometry
      Cauchy, Augustin-Louis (France). Le calcul infinitesimal. Paris, 1823. Mathematical analysis
      Carnot, Sadi (France). Réflexions sur la Puissance Motrice du Feu et sur les machines propres à déveloper cette puissance. Paris, 1824. Thermodynamics
      Ampère, André-Marie (France). Mémoire sur la théorie mathématique des phénomènes électrodynamiques, 1827. Electromagnetism
      Laplace, Pierre-Simon (France). Traité de Mécanique Céleste. Paris, 1827. Classical mechanics
      Ohm, Georg (Germany). Die Galvanische Kette mathematisch bearbeitet. Berlin, 1827. Electricity
      Lyell, Charles (Scotland). Principles of Geology. London, 1830. Geology
      Poisson, Siméon Denis (France). Théorie Mathématique de la Chaleur. Paris, 1835. Heat transfer
      Faraday, Michael (England). Experimental Researches in Electricity. London, 1839-55. Electricity.
      Babbage, Charles & Lovelace, Ada (England). Sketch of the Analytical Engine invented by Charles Babbage (with additional notes by Augusta Ada, Countess of Lovelace), 1843. Computing
      Joule, James P. (England). On the Calorific Effects of Magneto-Electricity, and on the Mechanical Value of Heat. London, 1843. Conservation of energy
      Hamilton, William Rowan (Ireland). On Quaternions. London/Edinburgh/Dublin, 1844. Quaternions.
      von Helmholtz, Hermann (Germany). Über die Erhaltung der Kraft (On the Conservation of Force). 1847. Conservation of energy
      Clausius, Rudolf (Germany). Ueber die bewegende Kraft der Wärme (On the Moving Force of Heat and the Laws of Heat which may be Deduced Therefrom). Leipzig, 1850. Laws of thermodynamics
      Thomson, William (1st Baron Kelvin) (Scotland/Ireland). On the dynamical theory of heat, with numerical results deduced from Mr Joule's equivalent of a thermal unit and M. Regnault's observations on steam. Edinburgh, 1851. Thermodynamics
      Boole, George (England). An Investigation of the Laws of Thought. London, 1854. Boolean algebra
      Maury, Matthew Fontaine (America). The Physical Geography of the Sea. New York, 1855. Oceanography
      Virchow, Rudolf (Germany). Die Cellularpathologie in ihrer Begründung auf physiologische und pathologische Gewebelehre. 1858. Cellular pathology
      Darwin, Charles (England). On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. London, 1859. Evolutionary biology
      Pasteur, Louis (France). Memoire sur les corpuscules organises qui existent dans l'atmosphere. Paris, 1861. Microbiology.
      Lejeune Dirichlet, P. G. (Germany). Vorlesungen über Zahlentheorie. Braunschweig, 1863, Number theory.
      Bernard, Claude (France). Introduction à l'étude de la médecine expérimentale. Paris, 1865. Physiology
      Mendel, Gregor (Czech Republic/Austria). Versuche über Pflanzen-Hybriden (Experiments on Plant Hybridization). Brno, 1866. Genetics
      Riemann, Bernhard (Germany). Ueber die Hypothesen, welche der Geometrie zu Grunde liegen. Göttingen, 1868. Riemannian geometry
      Beltrami, Eugenio (Italy). Saggio di interpretazione della geometria non-euclidea (Essay on an interpretation of non-Euclidean geometry), 1868. Hyperbolic geometry
      Galton, Francis (England). Hereditary Genius: An Inquiry into Its Laws and Consequences. London, 1869, Statistics
      Cohn, Ferdinand (Poland). Untersuchungen ueber Bacterien. Breslau, 3 Vol, 1870. Bacteriology.
      Darwin, Charles (England). The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex. London, 1871. Evolutionary biology.
      Marx, Karl (Germany). Das Kapital. St. Petersburg, 1872. Economics.
      Maxwell, James Clerk (Scotland). A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism. Oxford, 2 Vol, 1873. Classical electromagnetism.
      Koch, Robert (Germany). Untersuchungen uber die aetiologie der wundinfectionskrankheiter. Leipzig, 1878. Bacteriology.
      Gibbs, Willard (America). On the Equilibrium of Heterogeneous Substances. New Haven, 1878. Physical chemistry
      Michelson, Albert A. (America). Experimental Determination of the Velocity of Light. Annapolis, 1880. Speed of light.
      Abel, Niels Henrik (Norway). Oeuvres complètes, 1881. Mathematical analysis.
      Zhukovsky, Nikolai (Russia). O protchnosti dvizheniya (The Durability of Motion). Moscow, 1882. Aeronautics.
      Cantor, Georg (Russia/Germany). Grundlagen einer allgemeinen Mannigfaltigkeitslehre. Leipzig, 1883. Set theory.
      James, William (America). The Principles of Psychology. New York, 1890. Psychology
      Mendeleev, Dmitri (Russia). Principles of Chemistry. London, 1891. Chemistry
      Newcomb, Simon (America). Astronomical Papers Prepared for the Use of the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac. Washington, D.C., 1891. Astronomy
      Poincare, Henri (France). Les méthodes nouvelles de la mécanique céleste. Paris, 1892. Celestial mechanics
      Tesla, Nikola (Croatia/America). Experiments with Alternate Currents of High Potential and High Frequency. New York, 1892. Electricity
      Hertz, Heinrich (Germany). Untersuchungen über die Ausbreitung der elektrischen Kraft (Electric Waves). 1893. Electromagnetic radiation
      Röntgen, Wilhelm (Germany). Ueber eine neue Art von Strahlen (On A New Kind Of Rays). 1895. X-rays
      Bolyai, János (Hungary). The Science of Absolute Space. 1896. Non-Euclidean geometry
      Galois, Évariste (France). Oeuvres Mathematiques d'Évariste Galois. Paris, 1897. Group theory
      Curie, Marie (Poland/France) & Curie, Pierre (France). Sur une nouvelle substance fortement radio-active, contenue dans la pechblende (Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l'Académie des Sciences). Paris, 1898. Radioactivity
      Hilbert, David (Germany). Grundlagen der Geometrie (The Foundations of Geometry). 1899. Mathematics
      Ramón y Cajal, Santiago (Spain). Textura del sistema nervioso del hombre y los vertebrados 1899-1904. Neuroscience


      = 20th century (pre-Cold War)

      =
      Planck, Max (Germany). Zur Theorie des Gesetzes der Energieverteilung im Normalspectrum. Leipzig, 1900. Quantum mechanics
      Tsiolkovsky, Konstantin Eduardovich (Russia). The Exploration of Cosmic Space by Means of Reaction Devices. Kaluga, 1903. Rockets
      Rutherford, Ernest (New Zealand). Radio-activity. Cambridge, 1904. Nuclear physics
      Lorentz, Hendrik (Netherlands). Electromagnetic phenomena in a system moving with any velocity smaller than that of light. Amsterdam, 1904. Special relativity
      Einstein, Albert (Germany). Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper ("On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies") Leipzig, 1905. Special relativity
      Einstein, Albert (Germany). Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content? Leipzig, 1905. Physics
      Richardson, Lewis (England). The Approximate Arithmetical Solution by Finite Differences of Physical Problems Involving Differential Equations, with an Application to the Stresses in a Masonry Dam. London, 1910. Computational mechanics
      Boas, Franz (Germany/America). The Mind of Primitive Man. New York, 1911. Anthropology
      Bohr, Niels (Denmark). On the Constitution of Atoms and Molecules. London, 1913. Quantum mechanics
      Einstein, Albert (Germany). Die Grundlage Der Allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie (Foundations of the General Theory of Relativity). Leipzig, 1916. Physics.
      Goddard, Robert Hutchings (America). A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes. Washington, D.C, 1919. Rockets
      de Broglie, Louis (France). Recherches sur la théorie des quanta (Research on Quantum Theory), 1924. Wave–particle duality
      Whitehead, Alfred North (England) and Russell, Bertrand (England). Principia Mathematica. Cambridge, 1925. Mathematics
      Heisenberg, Werner (Germany). Über quantentheorestische Umdeutung kinematischer und mechanischer Beziehungen. Berlin, 1925. Quantum mechanics
      Schrödinger, Erwin (Austria). Quantisierung als Eigenwertproblem. Leipzig, 1926. Quantum mechanics
      Heisenberg, Werner (Germany). Über den anschaulichen Inhalt der quantentheoretischen Kinematik und Mechanik Berlin, 1927. Quantum mechanics
      Pavlov, Ivan (Russia). Conditioned Reflexes. New York, 1928. Classical conditioning
      Oberth, Hermann (Romania). Wege zur Raumschiffahrt (Ways to Spaceflight). Munich/Berlin, 1929. Rockets
      Hubble, Edwin (America). A Relation between Distance and Radial Velocity among Extra-Galactic Nebulae. Washington, D.C., 1929. Astrophysics
      Dirac, Paul (England). The Principles of Quantum Mechanics. Oxford, 1930. Quantum mechanics.
      Gödel, Kurt (Czech Republic/America). On formally undecidable propositions of Principia Mathematica and related systems. Leipzig, 1931. Mathematical logic.
      von Neumann, John (Hungary/America). Mathematische Grundlagen der Quantenmechanik. 1932. Quantum mechanics
      Goddard, Robert Hutchings (America). Liquid Propellant Rocket Development. Washington, D.C., 1936. Rockets
      Keynes, John Maynard (England). The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. London, 1936. Economics
      Church, Alonzo (America). A Note on the Entscheidungsproblem. Ann Arbor, 1936. Computer science.
      Turing, Alan (England). On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem. Cambridge, 1937. Computing
      Dobzhansky, Theodosius (Ukraine/America). Genetics and the Origin of Species. 1937. Evolutionary biology
      Shannon, Claude E. (America). A Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits (Master's thesis, MIT). 1937. Computing
      Pauling, Linus (America). The Nature of the Chemical Bond. Ithaca, 1939. Chemistry.
      von Neumann, John (Hungary/America) & Morgenstern, Oskar (Germany/America). Theory of Games and Economic Behavior. Princeton, 1944. Game theory


      References




      External links


      Heralds of Science - Smithsonian Libraries
      Milestones of Science Books - Antiquarian booksellers

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