First Edition of the Principia in English (1729) ~ A lovely and fresh copy in contemporary bindings

Newton, Isaac

[PRINCIPIA MATHEMATICA - FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH]. The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. Translated into English by Andrew Motte. To which are added, The Laws of the Moon's Motion, according to Gravity. BY John Machin

London: For Benjamin Mott, 1729. first Edition in English. Two vols., 8vo. (19 x 11 cm). Paginated: [36] 320; [2], 393 [13]; viii [3] 4-71 [1] pp. Collation = Ad 1: pi1 A2 2A8 a8 B-X8. Ad 2: pi1 B-Z8 Aa-Cc8 Dd3 (lacking blank leaf Dd4 as commonly); a4 A-D8 E4 (with cancel C1, headling = "Gentium"; stain on fols. b7-8 and c1-2). Lacking engraved allegorical frontispiece to each volume (not unusually). With 47 engraved folding plates (numbered 1-25 and 1-19, with 3 unnumbered plates at rear of volume 2), 2 folding letterpress tables, 3 engraved headpieces. Bound in contemporary English sprinkled calf (very minor wear wear along binding extremities), spines with red morocco lettering pieces gilt, black oval volume numbers gilt, old shelf labels in MS on paper circles ("30"). Item #4526

BEAUTIFUL COPY OF THE FIRST ENGLISH-LANGUAGE EDITION OF THE GREATEST WORK IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE, "PERHAPS THE GREATEST INTELLECTUAL STRIDE THAT IT HAS EVER BEEN GRANTED TO ANY MAN TO MAKE" (EINSTEIN).

"The Principia is generally described as the greatest work in the history of science. These provided the great synthesis of the cosmos, proving finally its physical unity. Newton showed that the important and dramatic aspects of nature that were subject to the universal law of gravitation could be explained, in mathematical terms, within a single physical theory. With him the separation of natural and supernatural, of sublunar and superlunar worlds disappeared" (Bernard Cohen, Introduction in The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, 1968).

PMM: "Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler had certainly shown the way; but where they described the phenomena they observed, Newton explained the underlying laws." Originally published in Latin in 1687, the Principia "marked the culmination of the scientific revolution, [...] ushered in modern science, and through its legacy the work may have done more to shape the modern world than any other ever published" (ODNB). Newton here laid the foundation for classical mechanics, establishing the three laws of motion and universal gravitation. It is universally considered a masterpiece that unified physical laws of the heavens and earth.

This finely printed translation into English by Mott made the work available to a wider lay audience. This edition also contains John Machin's attempt to rectify Newton's lunar theory, "The Laws of the Moon's Motion, according to Gravity." Most copies have an engraved frontispiece in each volume, although some have only one (Ransom Center, etc.), while a surprising number have neither of them (as here), including the Gonville and Caius copy at Cambridge University (M.26.7-8). Because the book has been of enduring interest for almost 300 years, with commensurately heavy use, copies as fresh as this in contemporary bindings are of genuine rarity.

Babson 20. Wallis 23. PMM 161.

Price: $120,000.00