Authors starting with N from B & L Rootenberg Rare Books & Manuscripts

Blue publisher’s cloth, covers slight scuffing to covers, spine faintly sunned with a small chip, otherwise a very good copy. Ownership inscription of the Globe Democrat to fly-leaf. First edition. Written primarily for the benefit of Confederate veterans and their children, to whom the book is dedicated, the author has contributed memories and recollections on a somewhat lighter side than the more standard straight recitation of historical facts. According to Nevins, this work has great value "b... more information

A very nice set uniformly bound in contemporary French calf-backed marbled boards, small tear to cover of second volume. First edition of the author's greatest work, containing all of his surgical innovations and discoveries, including the first descriptions of "Nélaton's tumour" and "Nélaton's line". Among the surgical instruments he invented are a porcelain-tipped bullet probe and a flexible rubber catheter which bears his name. In addition, there are a number... more information

With 1 folding engraved plate, engraved vignettes, initials and headpieces. An uncut copy in boards. First and only edition. Neubauer (1742-1777) gives a thorough account of the generative male organ citing opinions and works by authors from Vesalius to many of his contemporaries. The figures on the engraved plate depict how sperm is produced and travels through the male organ. ... more information

Half-morocco over marbled boards. An excellent copy from the library of Dutch astronomer Adriaan van Maanen, with his signature on the title page and his presentation bookplate to the Mount Wilson Observatory. First edition of one of Neumann's most important works. Neumann (1832-1925) was professor of mathematics at both the Universities of Tübingen and Leipzig. His main interests were in applied mathematics, and he wrote on mathematical physics, potential and electrodynamics. He was also editor of... more information

With 39 text diagrams. Original printed wrappers. First edition of a series of lectures in two parts, comprising 20 essays in all. The first part gives the background to the theory of relativity and leads on to Einstein, Maxwell, Lorentz and Minkowski. The second part is a more detailed discussion of the specific problems in the theory and concludes with a postscript on Weyl's theory. ... more information

Green library cloth, ex-libiris markings. Inscribed by the author on title. First edition. ... more information

Red publisher’s cloth, title in gilt to front cover and spine. Water stain to front cover. First edition. "Professor Tait, a Scottish physicist and mathematician, believed that an accurate acquaintance with the Laws of Motion is the basis of the study of all branches of Natural Philosophy. He presents it here with all possible brevity, in two chapters, Kinematics and Dynamics, on which he was regarded as an authority" (Babson).Tait (1831-1901) taught natural philosophy at the Unive... more information

Woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces, two engraved plates, and several text diagrams. Contemporary calf, rebacked with original laid down, a small spot in the front hinge; some browning around edges, but generally, an excellent copy with an ownership signature on the fly-leaf and on the verso of the last leaf. Second edition of the English translation of De mundi systemate, printed the same year as the first edition in English (1728). This is Newton's "first draft" of the third book of the P... more information

The first ten pages contain a list of subscribers (mainly from Oxford and Cambridge) and a corrigenda. With12 folding plates. Bound in old boards, rebacked, a clean and crisp copy, uncut. First edition of this rather rare series of excerpts from Newton’s Principia. “Although there is no mention of it in the book itself, the annotators were John Jebb, M.D., Rector of Ovington, Robert Thorp, Archdeacon of Northumberland, and Francis Wollaston, Rector of Chislehurt” (Babson).In additi... more information

Woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces, Title printed in red and black. With 12 folding engraved plates. Later morocco; some minor spotting, but overall a very nice copy. Fourth edition. This was the final edition which Newton revised. Regarded as one of the great classics of optics, this work expounds Newton’s corpuscular or emission theory of light, and is the first work to contain his optical discoveries in a collected form. His set of “queries” (the complete 31, up from 16 in the origina... more information

Title printed in red and black. With 19 folding engraved plates. Contemporary English paneled calf; an exceptionally fine copy. First issue of the first edition, issued anonymously with only the initials “I.N.” at the end of the advertisements. Regarded as one of the great classics of optics, this work expounds Newton’s corpuscular or emission theory of light, and is the first work to contain his optical discoveries in a collected form. His set of sixteen “queries” on the nature of... more information

With folding engraved plate of cometary orbit facing p. 465, numerous woodcut diagrams in the text. Title printed in red and black with an engraved device. Contemporary vellum over boards; a few wormholes in the spine, preliminary and endleaves, otherwise a very nice copy. First Amsterdam edition of Newton’s epoch-making work, taken from the second printed edition (1713). It is in this edition of the Principia that Newton’s famous additions to the theory of the motion of the moon and the planets appear... more information

With engraved title-vignette of an observatory within a border of instruments, 12 folding plates, and historiated initials, all engraved by J. Pine after J. Grison, including the arms of Sir Robert Walpole, to whom the work is dedicated. Complete with subscriber's list (including Isaac Newton's 12 books). Contemporary calf, rebacked; an excellent, wide-margined copy, title page with small repair where it appears a signature has been removed, though with manuscript date of June 21, 1800. First editi... more information

Numerous text astronomical diagrams and tables. Recent morocco-backed marbled boards; an excellent copy. First edition of Whiston's astronomical lectures, one of the earliest works to popularize Newton's discoveries. It was translated into English in 1715 under the title Astronomical principles. Whiston (1667-1752) was Newton's assistant lecturer in mathematics, and ultimately succeeded him as Lucasian professor at Cambridge. He edited Newton's Arithmetica universalis the same year this work... more information

Contemporary full polished calf with gilt-ruled borders and tooled edges, spine with 5 raised bands; other than light scuffing to boards, a very good clean copy. First edition. ... more information

Both works in original printed wrappers; fine copies, uncut and partially unopened. I: First edition of this study of scientists, especially mathematicians, during the French revolution. Bailly. Carnot, Condorcet, Delambre, Courier, Hassenfratz, Laplace, Monge, and Puissant are but a few in this rare work.II: First edition of the continued study of scientists during the eighteenth century. Includes biographies of D'Alembert, Bouguer, Buffon, Cassini, Clairaut, Coulomb, Courtivron, Gallois, L... more information

Complete with two inserted leaves and six plates (five folding and one in colour). Contemporary half calf over moire silk boards, finely rebacked using the original spine. An excellent copy withdrawn from the Wellcome Library with their release stamp. First edition of this great rarity, the least known and possibly most important work by Nightingale. Upon her return to England from the Crimean War, where she witnessed the deplorable sanitary conditions there, she conducted an exhaustive study of the ... more information

With 114 beautiful woodcut text illustrations. Original publisher's cloth with paper spine labels, binding of second work unglued at front and spine; some light browning (heavier to preliminaries and endleaves) and scattered foxing. From the library of Dr. Robert Peter, with his book labels and ownership inscription to both volumes. First edition of "one of the earliest landmarks in the history of American ornithology." Written by one of the leading naturalists of the time, this work covers ... more information