A book by British theorist and physicist Isaac Newton was discovered at the Ajaccio Heritage Library in Corsica by Vannina Schirinsky-Schikhmatoff, conservation and restoration project manager. Printed in 1686, Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy) is an extremely rare work in Latin.
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There are only 400 copies in English and 80 in Latin. The Latin edition soared to $3.7 million at Christie's in 2016, becoming the most expensive printed science book ever sold at auction. According to Schirinsky-Schikhmatoff, “it is this edition which is in the Ajaccio library."
“While I was researching a listing concerning the Lucien Bonaparte collection, I saw that there was a Newton. It was the date that challenged me, this book dating from the lifetime of Isaac Newton. While searching, I found the Grail in the heritage room, lost in the heights, hidden. The exterior is a bit damaged but the interior is in excellent condition. This work is the cornerstone of modern mathematics,” Schirinsky-Schikhmatoff said.
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For the curator, who had already found a treaty of Egyptology dating from 1610, 200 years before the deciphering of hieroglyphs by Champollion, these discoveries bring a "national influence" to the Ajaccian library. Although she welcomes this discovery, Schirinsky-Schikhmatoff is said to be leaving: she announced in mid-February that she would leave the structure following a conflict with the town hall over the conservation of the works found there.
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The book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica is considered a key work in the history of science. Newton describes the universal law of gravitation, formulates the three universal laws of motion, and lays the foundations for classical mechanics.
