Opera Posthuma

HORROCKS, Jeremiah (1618-1641). Opera Posthuma. viz. Astronomia Kepleriana. London: William Godbid, 1673. The Honeyman copy, with English scientific provenance . The present copy has ownership signatures from naturalist, translator and illustrator Richard Waller, mathematician and botanist Israel Lyons Junior, and mathematical historian and astronomer Stephen Peter Rigaud, and was formerly in the collection of the Radcliffe Observatory. Horrock's Opera Posthuma (London, 1673), issued under the auspices of the Royal Society and edited in part by John Flamsteed, collected his principal astronomical papers, observations, and correspondence. The work includes Horrocks's influential studies of planetary motion, lunar theory, and the transit of Venus, revealing a remarkable advancement of Johannes Kepler's ideas and establishing Horrocks as a foundational figure in British astronomy despite his death at the age of only twenty-two. The present is a reissue of the 1672 work, Astronomia Kepleriana , with a new title page . It was published again in 1678. Houzeau and Lancaster 11848. Quarto (200 x 150mm). Two folding plates at rear (leaf T4 stained). Contemporary calf (rebacked, a little scuffed, extremities rubbed). Custom chemise and slipcase.

Estimate:$20,000

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