Polygraphia nova et universalis ex combinatoria arte detecta qua quivis etiam linguarum quantumuis imperitus triplici methodo. . . Appendix apologetica.

Language: Latin

Published by ex typographia Varesij, Rome, 1663

  • First Edition
  • Hardcover
  • Used
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Seller: Milestones of Science Books, Ritterhude, GermanyMilestones of Science Books

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Hardcover

Condition: Used - Very good

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Item description from seller

Two parts in one volume. Folio (329 x 230 mm). 148, 23 [1] pp., including woodcut with motto of Kircher on title page, woodcut initials, one engraved folding plate and two letterpress folding tables, appendix with separate pagination. Bound in contemporary vellum over thin boards, spine with faint ink lettering, original endpapers (corners slightly bumped, first flyleaf frayed toward corners). Internally very little browning (few pages and the engr. plate a bit stronger), occasional light brown spotting, blank lower margin of title with minor loss from ink corrosion repaired, pale dampstain to upper blank margin of two leaves S1-2, otherwise quite crisp and clean. Provenance: old ownership inscriptions on title erased in ink. A fine copy in untouched binding. ---- FIRST EDITION AND EXCEPTIONALLY RARE. In this work, which greatly influenced Leibniz, Kircher presents an artificial universal language, reworking the work of Trithemius with the same title. The first book proposes the reduction of all languages to only one, and contains a double dictionary of five languages; books II and III are devoted to various encryption systems. Trithemius' work Polygraphia is discussed in the appendix. Kircher's "work Polygraphia nova provides elements for a carefully crafted codification apparatus that itself is telling of the culture of 'secret monastic languages and codes of mediaeval Europe." (Parikka). "This work of the German scholar and mathematician is based principally on the writings of Johannes Trithemius. Joaquín García Carmona and others see also the influence of Blaise de Vigenère, whose multi-alphabet cipher seems to have been transformed by Kircher into a numerical cipher. Of special interest in Polygraphia is part 1, where Kircher proposes a system of pasigraphy, or universal writing, employing numerals to stand for words of similar meaning in Latin, Italian, French, German, and Spanish." (Semeiology Collection). This work is exceptionally rare, with only two copies recorded at auction in the past 30+ years (the Macclesfield copy in 2005 and a presentation-copy by Kircher in 1991, both sold at Sotheby's). Dünnhaupt/Kircher 15; Sommervogel IV, 1059; Jussi Parikka, Hidden in Plain Sight: The Steganographic Image. (In: unthinking.photography; The Philip Mills Arnold Semeiology Collection of the Washington University Libraries (in: omeka-wustl-edu online source); Fletcher, J. E. (2001), A Study of the Life and Works of Athanasius Kircher, 'Germanus Incredibilis'. London: Brill, p.167. - Visit our website to see more images.…

Bibliographic details

Title
Polygraphia nova et universalis ex combinatoria arte detecta qua quivis etiam linguarum quantumuis imperitus triplici methodo. . . Appendix apologetica.
Author
KIRCHER, Athanasius
Publisher
ex typographia Varesij, Rome
Publication year
1663
Condition
Very Good
Binding
Hardcover
Language
Latin
Edition
1st Edition
Item weight
1 kilogram
Dimensions
Folio - over 12 - 15" tall
Seller catalogs
General Science

Milestones of Science Books

Ritterhude, Germany

5-star seller

AbeBooks seller since August 10, 2011

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Welcome to Milestones of Science Books. We are a members of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, ILAB. We specialize in selling and buying rare and important antiquarian books and prints in the history of science, medicine and ideas in general, with a focus on those listed in Carter/Muir's Printing and the Mind of Man, Dibner's Heralds of Science, or Horblit's One Hundred Books famous in Science. We are among the leading experts in these fields and guarantee for the authenticity of all items we sell.…

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Milestones of Science, Medicine, and Philosophy, Natural History, Astronomy, Geosciences, Life Sciences, Physics and Chemistry

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Milestones of Science Books

Germany

As antiquarian booksellers and member of the ILAB and VDA we specialize in selling and buying rare and important books and prints in the history of science and medicine, with a focus on those listed in Carter/Muir's Printing and the Mind of Man, Dibner's Heralds of Science, or Horblit's One Hundred Books famous in Science. We are among the leading experts in these fields and guarantee for the authenticity of all items we sell. Not all the books, journals and special prints we have in stock are listed here. If there's anything that you are particularly looking for, please contact us.