A Prognostication everlasting of ryght good effecte

ASTRONOMY. HOROLOGY. NAVIGATION. Digges, Leonard (c.1515-c.1559)

Published by Thomas Gemini, London, 1556

About this Item

Bound in modern calf by Bernard Middleton. A fine copy on thick paper with minor defects. The book is illustrated with a woodcut zodiac man (hand-colored in this copy) on the title, numerous woodcut instruments, diagrams, and illustrations that include a model of the Geocentric Solar System, and an illustration showing the relative sizes of the planets and the Sun. There are woodcut initials throughout. The upper, outer corner of first 5 leaves with discreet repairs, partially costing a letter on the title and one letter on three of the other leaves. A few diagrams and side notes are slightly shaved. The final blank leaf is repaired at the corners. A 17th c. owner has added additional dates (for the years 1633-1641) on two of the lunar tables. The Harrison D. Horblit copy (his sale, 16 February 1994). One of the earliest scientific books printed in England and one of the earliest English books on scientific subjects composed in the vernacular. The author, the mathematician Leonard Digges, wrote the book in English in order to render mathematical and scientific knowledge accessible to artisans, mariners, craftsmen, surveyors, and physicians. In part a perpetual English almanac, with meteorological rules, calendrical tables, and medical and astrological guidance; the book also includes information crucial for navigation, including tide tables for 37 ports, and instructions for the construction and use of scientific instruments. The book is illustrated with woodcut illustrations, including of the geocentric cosmos with the relative sizes of the planets, multiple instruments, an "astrological man", etc. This almanac would achieve numerous editions. It served as inspiration for his son Thomas Digges's 1576 supplement in which he provided the first English translation of any part of Copernicus. "Digges's almanac deliberately departed from the usual form of such texts, which were typically printed for a single year and required annual renewal. The 'Prognostication' has calendrical tables and explanations of meteorological phenomena, with basic astrological information and rules for predicting the weather as well as times for planting, grafting, and blood-letting. Digges discussed the use of instruments such as the quadrant and square for time-telling, and provided tide tables for mariners. To satisfy readers who doubted the possibility of the astronomical statements in his early editions he included diagrams of the geocentric world system and of the relative sizes of the planets." (ODNB) "The 'Prognostication' was in fact intended to be especially serviceable to sailors, containing as it did the data necessary for finding the hour of full sea at thirty-seven ports in the Narrow Seas. A table of the sun's altitude for every hour throughout the year in the latitude of London made it possible to find latitude on shipboard by simple comparison, without reference to the sun's declination. The latter was in fact given for every five degrees of the sun's passage through the signs of the zodiac, for Digges (as the title of his almanack suggests) attached great importance to astrology, which in turn involved attention also to horology and the making of accurate dials. The very practical intention of his publication is further indicated by the inclusion of a description of the making and use of three quite simple instruments, a dial, a quadrant and a square, the last named in effect providing a rough solution for the tangent of any angle. "Digges's avowed aim was to bring within the reach of the artisan and the master-craftsman a knowledge of the mathematical arts which had hitherto been 'locked up in strange tongues', and the fact that his books were so many times reprinted, as well as the numerous references made to them by men of the class and type he hoped to reach, is evidence of their value. He was ably seconded by Thomas Gemini, who made the instruments that he described" (Taylor 23) "Leonard Digges was a mathematical practitioner speci.

Seller Inventory # 5419

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Prognostication everlasting of ryght good effecte
• Publisher: Thomas Gemini, London
• Publication Date: 1556
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Fine