About this Item
First edition, an exceptionally fine copy, the nicest we have seen, of the first work of experimental physics published in England. Gilbert was chiefly concerned with magnetism; but as a digression he discusses in his second book the attractive effect of amber (electrum), and thus may be regarded as the founder of electrical science. He coined the terms electricity, electric force and electric attraction. His versorium , a short needle balanced on a sharp point to enable it to move freely, is the first instrument designed for the study of electrical phenomena, serving both as an electroscope and electrometer. He contended that the earth was one great magnet; he distinguished magnetic mass from weight; and he worked on the application of terrestrial magnetism to navigation. Gilbert s book influenced Kepler, Bacon, Boyle, Newton and, in particular, Galileo, who used his theories [in the Dialogo] to support his own proof of the correctness of the findings of Copernicus in cosmology" (PMM). "Gilbert provided the only fully developed theory … and the first comprehensive discussion of magnetism since the thirteenth century Letter on the Magnet of Peter Peregrinus" (DSB). Although this book does appear with some regularity on the market, copies such as ours in fine condition and in untouched contemporary bindings are rare. Provenance: presentation inscription on front free endleaf dated 1622 to the Bibliotheca Academiae Juliae Carolinae, Helmstedt: In bibliotheca illustris et inclutae academiae Juliae, quae Helmosteti est, nutrici meritissimae et aeternum venerandae, donarium hoc exiguum dedicavit Bartholdus Nihusius anno MDCXXII ; the donor, the German Catholic Bishop Barthold Nihus (1590 1657) was a correspondent of Athanasius Kircher; old stamp 'Ex bibliotheca Academiae Iuliae Carolinae Helmstadt' on verso of title, with deaccession stamp across it; Herbert McLean Evans (1882 1971) with his bookplate (all of the Evans books I have seen have been outstanding copies). Herbert McLean Evans . made a monumental contribution to the field of endocrinology through his studies of the physiology of reproduction. . Four of his lines of research and discovery were often mentioned as deserving of the Nobel Prize: (1) development of the vascular system, (2) elucidation of the estrous cycle in the rat, and the role of pituitary gonadotropin in reproduction, (3) discovery of growth hormone, and (4) discovery of and isolation of vitamin E. The first of these was entirely Evans own work. The other three were collaborative efforts, but Evans' contribution to each was crucial. (A History of UCSF; People). Evans was also a historian of science and medicine, pioneering collector, and author of the outstanding Epochal Achievements in the History of Science (Berkeley, University of California Press, 1934), the first such compilation of its kind, and precursor of Dibner and Horblit. "During the fifteenth century the widespread interest in navigation had focused much attention on the compass. Since at that time the orientation of the magnetic needle was explained by an alignment of the magnetic poles with the poles of the celestial sphere, the diverse areas of geography, astronomy, and phenomena concerning the lodestone overlapped and were often intermingled. Navigators had noted the variation from the meridian and the dip of the magnetic needle and had suggested ways of accounting for and using these as aids in navigation. The connection between magnetic studies and astronomy was less definite; but so long as the orientation of the compass was associated with the celestial poles, the two studies were interdependent … "Gilbert divided his De magnete into six books. The first deals with the history of magnetism from the earliest legends about the lodestone to the facts and theories known to Gilbert s contemporaries … In the last chapter of book I, Gilbert introduced his new basic idea which was to explain all terrestrial magnetic phenomena: his p. Seller Inventory # 6244
Contact seller
Report this item
