Lot 19
Gravesande, Willem Jacob 's
An Essay on Perspective
The Library of James Stirling, Mathematician
Auction: 23 October 2025 from 13:00 GMT
Description
Written in French. And now translated into English. London: for J. Senex [and others], 1724. First edition, 8vo (19 x 11.6cm), contemporary panelled calf, [4] x 120 pp., 32 engraved plates, James Stirling's pencilled ownership inscription (‘James Stirling 1727’) to front pastedown, bound without half-title, small section of loss to leather on front board;
Gregory, David. A Treatise of Practical Geometry. Edinburgh: by W. and T. Ruddimans, for Hamilton and Balfour, 1745. First edition, 8vo (20.6 x 11.9cm, contemporary sprinkled calf, gilt spine, [4] 153 pp., 5 engraved plates, inked annotation on the ratio of Scottish to English feet to verso of final page, apparently in the hand of James Stirling, spine-label perished;
Maclaurin, Colin. A Treatise of Algebra. London: A. Millar, and J. Nourse, 1748. First edition, 8vo (20.2 x 12.6cm), contemporary sprinkled calf, xiv 366 [2] 65 [1] pp., 12 engraved folding plates;
Scamozzi, Vincenzo. The Mirror of Architecture: or the Ground Rules of the Art of Building … Seventh Edition. Whereunto is added, A Compendium of the Art of Building … by William Leybubn [sic, i.e. Leybourn]. London: for B. Sprint, 1734. 4to, contemporary mottled calf, [6] 110 pp., engraved additional title-page, 50 engraved numbered plates (several folding), 2 full-page engravings in text, one folding plate with long closed tear (4)
Footnote
The extant correspondence between James Stirling and Genevan mathematician Gabriel Cramer makes frequent mention of the work of Gravesande, Cramer informing Stirling in one letter from 1730 ‘that Mr ‘S Gravesande had made some little improvement to your method, given in your book Enumeratio linearum 3ii Ordinis etc for finding the difference of exponents arithmetically proportional in an infinite series formed from a given equation’ (see lot 21 and Charles Tweedie, James Stirling: a Sketch of his Life and Works along with his Scientific Correspondence, 1922, p. 116).