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The wonders of the heavens, being a popular view of astronomy, including a full illustration of the mechanism of the heavens; embracing the sun, moon, stars, with descriptions of planets, comets, fixed stars, double stars, the constellations, the galaxy or milky-way, the zodiacal light, aurora borealis, or northern lights, meteors, clouds, falling stars, aërolites, &c.
Duncan Bradford. Boston, American Stationers Co., 1837

First edition of a popular American astronomical guide with exquisite plates with views on the moon, and stellar constellations adorned with the zodiacal symbols.). It contains an engraved frontispiece with Herschel’s telescope, an engraved title with zodiac, 6 full-page engraved plates with telescopic views of the moon in different phases and planets, and 6 hand-coloured folding engraved plates with celestial charts.

B-A Note: Old scientific books can have such long, elaborate titles!

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Spectropia; or Surprising Spectral Illusions; showing Ghosts everywhere, and of every colour
Brown (J.H., of Brighton). 1865.

First Series, fourth edition, 16 plates, all but three hand-coloured, original cloth-backed printed boards, rubbed, 4to, 1865.

The introduction explains, “the following Illusions are founded on two well-known facts; namely, the persistency of impressions, and the production of complementary colours, on the retina.”

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Institutions Newtoniennes
NEWTON (ISAAC), SIGORGNE (PIERRE)

Second edition, 6 folding engraved plates, contemporary mottled calf gilt, 8vo, Paris, Guillyn, 1769

“… Sigorgne forcefully demonstrated the Newtonian arguments for the physical instability of the hypothetical vortices and the mathematical incompatibility between vortex motion and Kepler’s laws. His Institution newtoniennes (1747),a clear introduction no Newtonian mathematical and physical principles, contributed to the acceptance of the attraction theory by the French scientific community. ” ~encyclopedia.com

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Episodes of Insect Life
Budgen (E.L.)] “Acheta Domestica”, 1849.

3 vol., first edition, wood-engraved frontispieces and illustrations, many hand-coloured, 16pp. advertisements at end of each vol., superb original pictorial cloth, gilt. Exceptional Victorian publisher’s cloth bindings, vol.1 and 2 of a slightly paler blue to that of vol.3, but all three generally in excellent condition.

B-A Note: I took a look at this on Google Books to find out more, and nearly got lost for the day reading it. Beautifully written:

“While our native glowworms have begemmed no other beauty but that of the sleeping wild-flowers, the tropic fireflies have sparkled in dark tresses, and been rivaled by flashing eyes…. “

And in defense of science:

“Science, in removing partially the veil which conceals from us the mechanism of created things, leaves them still invested with every charm thrown around them by the imaginative mind.”

And strangely:

“But, worst of all! - horror of horrors! - we have it on excellent evidence, how that a certain great green grasshopper (one of the sort just described) on being bottled up together with his own leg (accidentally detached), did make a hearty meal off that late portion of himself.”

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Mathematical Magic; or, The Wonders that may be performed by Mechanical Geometry …
John Wilkins. Fourth Edition. London: Ric. Baldwin, 1691

“This short, condensed compendium … represents the first text on mechanics available in the English language … describing various machines, including strange devices and possibilities, such as a land vehicle powered by wind, submarines, flying automata, clocks, magnetic perpetuum mobile, etc.”—Bibliotheca Mechanica, page 354 (1648 original edition). Wing W2201 (this edition)

B-A Note: Two words I find it hard to resist: “flying automata.”

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Livre de Chiffre. manuscript in french written in cursive hand in brownish-black ink with headings in red, recto and verso, on laid paper. 137 leaves. 374x254 mm, contemporary vellum, quite worn; marginal stains throughout, scattered foxing, title soiled and stained, free endpapers lacking. Cuers, France: “fait par Moi Basile Reynaud,” 1 July 1753

The text comprises explanations and examples of basic arithmetic operations applied to whole numbers and fractions, a lengthy section on commercial arithmetic, and a brief account of square and cube roots at the end.

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MATHEMATICS
“Figure di fisico matematica, tom. prim [-secon.] Anno 1822”, pair of attractive manuscript volumes comprising 174 numbered pages of pen-and-ink drawings and titles, plus indices, one or two with colour added by a near contemporary identifying himself as ‘Gabrieli Giovanni’, nearly 180 leaves in total, contemporary half vellum, minor wear and imperfections, 8vo, 1822 (2)

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A treatise on the muscular and bone structure of the head by a student of Albinus
COURCELLES, David Cornelis de

Leyden, Ex typographia Dammeana (H. van Damme), for the author, 1743. 4to. Contemporary vellum, red morocco title label, lettered in gold, red painted edges. With 8 folding engraved plates. (4), 83, (4) pp.

First edition of a detailed work on the anatomy of the human head by the Dutch physician David Cornelis de Courcelles, illustrated with fascinating anatomical plates, depicting the muscular structure and bones of the head. The text is in Latin and Dutch (from pp. 33-83). A second edition was published by A.& J. Honkoop at Leyden in 1786. De Courcelles was probably born at The Hague and studied at Leyden. He is also famous for his publication ”Icones musculorum plantae pedis eorumque descriptio” (Leyden, 1739), on the muscular structure on the footsole, which is a complementary study to the celebrated anatomy of the bones and muscles by De Courcelles teacher Albinus.

B-A Note: There are a couple more similarly - er - interesting images from the book at the link.

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The Young Geometrician’s Companion
Richard Turner. Printed for S. Crowder, 1787. First Edition.

Notes: A long title, but one worth reading through. ESTC records just six copies, 3 on either side of the Atlantic: of those in the UK, 2 are in Scotland, one at Glasgow Univeristy, which granted Turner an honorary LLD in 1785. “Problem 24. To find the Side of a Cubic Block of Gold, which being coined into Guineas, would pay off the National Debt” (the answer is 16 feet).

Full Title:
The Young Geometrician’s Companion; being a new and comprehensive course of practical geometry; Containing, I. An easy Introduction to Decimal Arithmetic, with the Extractions of the Square, Cube, Biquadrate, and other Roots. II. Such Definitions, Axioms, Problems, Theorems, and Characters, as necessarily lead to the Knowledge of this Science. III. Planometry, or the Mensuration of Superficies; as Squares, Parallelograms, Triangles, Circles, Segments, &c. IV. Stereometry, or the Mensuration of Solids; as Cubes, Parallelopipedons, Prisms, Cones, Pyramids, Cylinders, Spheres, Frustums, &c. V. The Sections of a Cone; as Ellipses, Parabolas, Hyperbolas, Spheroids, Conoids, Spindles, &c. VI. The Platonic Bodies; as Tetraedrons, Hexaëdrons, Octaëdrons, Dodecaëdrons, and Icosaëdrons. To Which is Added A Collection of curious and interesting Problems, shewing that Lines and Angles, (and consequently the least Particle of Matter) may be divided in infinitum; that Superficies and Solids may be so cut as to appear considerably augmented; and, that the famous Problem of Archimedes, of moving the Earth, is capable of an easy and accurate Demonstration.

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The Complete Dictionary of Arts and Sciences
Temple Henry Croker. 1766-1769.

3 vol., 147 engraved plates (including frontispiece, some misnumbered), 5 engraved maps (one folding), occasional damp staining, ink stamp on verso of title, contemporary law calf, worn, folio, for the Authors, 1766-1769.

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STENO (NICOLAUS)
Elementorum myologiae specimen, seu musculi descriptio geometrica
Nicolaus Steno. Florence, 1667

First edition, 7 plates (3 folding woodcut and 4 engraved, the second plate with loss of about a quarter skilfully repaired in old manuscript), bookplate of Bernard Brodhurst, minor foxing, tiny flaw affecting one letter of title, nineteenth century half vellum, small folio. [Joseph Cocchini], sub signo Stellae.

From abebooks: “The foundation of muscle mechanics, the birth of scientific geology, and the comprehension of the mammalian ovum. G&M 577. Lilly, Notable medical books, p. 79. The book is divided into three distinct parts. The controversy resulting from the publication of his De Musculis et Glandulis in 1664 led Stensen to publish the Elementorum, in which he laid the foundation of muscular mechanics as we know it (in the first part). ” More description here.

B-A Note: If I were a dentist, this would be my logo.

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A Mathematical and Philosophical Dictionary
Charles Hutton. 1796-95.

The first extensive English mathematical dictionary with biographical detail, including balloons, anemometers, diving bells, fire engines, electrical machines, microscopes, steam engines and canals.