Buy this book on-line

James Ferguson : Astronomy Explained upon Sir Isaac Newton’s Principles, and made easy to those who have not studied Mathematics. To which is added a plain method of finding the Distances of all the Planets from the Sun, by the Transit of Venus over the Sun’s Disc, in the Year 1761. An Account of Mr. Horrox’s Observation of the Transit of Venus in the Year 1639: and, of the Distances of all the Planets from the Sun, as deduced from Observations of the Transit in the Year 1761

W. Strahan; J. and F. Rivington; W. Johnston, etc, London, 1770

contemporary full calf, upper and lower board with double straight lined gilt boarder. Spine rebacked with 6 compartments of raised bands, black morocco label on two, all edges speckled red. , Uniform toning otherwise a very good example., 8vo, P. frontis, title, blank, (1), blank, (4), 1-489, blank, index (14), 18 folding plates including the frontis depicting various astronomical diagrams.

“Ferguson’s ‘Astronomy explained on Sir Isaac Newton’s Principles’ was published in July 1756, and met with immediate and complete success. The first issue was exhausted in a year; the thirteenth edition, revised by Brewster, appeared in 1811, and the demand for successive reprints did not cease until 10 years later. It was translated into Swedish and German, and long excluded other treatises on the same subject. Although containing no theoretical novelty, the manner and method of its expositions were entirely original. Astronomical phenomena were for the first time described in familiar language.” (National Biography), Bibliotheca Chemico-Mathematica 1317 (5th edition); Gascoigne 4556, 2

0

James Ferguson : Astronomy Explained upon Sir Isaac Newton’s Principles, And made easy to those who have not studied Mathematics. To which are added, A Plain Method of Finding the Distances of all the Planets from the Sun, by the Transit of Venus over the Sun’s Disc, in the Year 1761. An Account of Mr. Horrox’s Observation of the Transit of Venus in the Year 1639: And of The Distances of all the Planets from the Sun, as deduced from Observations of the Transit in the Year 1761. By James Ferguson, F.R.S

W. Strahan, J. & F. Rivington, T. Cadell, et al., London, c. 1773.

Contemporary full calf, spine in six compartments of raised bands and gilt lines, gilt crimson morocco label on two, board edges blind-tooled, edges tinted red. , Joints started but still intact, some scuffs and chips to boards, minor offsetting to pages facing plates, small 2-inch tear from fore-margin into pages 193-4 (not affecting text); otherwise a very good copy, generally text and plates are clean and crisp., 4to., P. (4), blank, frontis, title, blank, dedication, blank, contents (3), advertisement, 1-354, index (10), (2)., Complete with 18 folding copper-engraved plates, including the folding frontispiece of the Orrery, as well as the scarce folding polar map.

James Ferguson was an amateur astronomer from Scotland who was the first writer to effectively explain Newton’s theories in language accessible to the general English readership. This book quickly became a bestseller and had to be published several times to meet demand. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1763, lived at King George III’s court and received a small salary for his work.

0

Bibliophile Bookbase for antiquarian books, maps and prints.