Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) and Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) - photo 1
Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) and Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) - photo 2
Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) and Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) - photo 3
Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) and Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) - photo 4

Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) and Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)

Lot 152
30.07.2020 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 112 500
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 381360
Lot 152 | Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) and Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)
Estimate value
£ 60 000 – 80 000
WHITEHEAD, Alfred North (1861-1947) and Bertrand RUSSELL (1872-1970). Principia mathematica. Cambridge: at the University Press, 1910-1913.

First edition of all three volumes of this momentous landmark of modern thought, exceptionally rare as a complete set and not ex-library. Principia mathematica is considered the greatest single contribution to logic to appear since Aristotle. Whitehead and Russell set out to show how ‘mathematics could be derived solely from logical concepts and by logical methods … [Principia] has had an influence, direct and indirect, of near Newtonian proportions upon the spheres of its chief influence: mathematical logic, set theory, the foundations of mathematics, linguistic analysis and analytical philosophy’ (Grattan-Guinness).

After publishing the first part of his Treatise on Universal Algebra in 1898, Whitehead began preparing a second volume, a comparative study of algebras as symbolic structures. In 1900 he and his most brilliant pupil, Bertrand Russell, travelled to Paris, where they were inspired by Peano’s newly-devised ideography for symbolic logic, and saw in it the most apt tool for a reduction of mathematics to its core in philosophical logic. After Russell published his Principles of Mathematics (1903), he planned to give a completely symbolic account of the assimilation of mathematics to logic in a second volume. When the two logicians realized that their projects perfectly coincided, they began a collaboration which resulted in the publication of Principia.

‘Not only did Principia introduce a wide range of philosophically rich notions (including propositional function, logical construction, and type theory), it also set the stage for the discovery of crucial metatheoretic results (including those of Kurt Gödel, Alonzo Church, Alan Turing and others). Just as importantly, it initiated a tradition of common technical work in fields as diverse as philosophy, mathematics, linguistics, economics and computer science’ (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). ‘Whether they know it or not, all modern logicians are the heirs of Whitehead and Russell’ (Palgrave Centenary Companion to Principia Mathematica, 2013, p.20). Landmark Writings in Western Mathematics 16; Norman 1868; Blackwell & Ruja A9.1a; Church, Bibliography of Symbolic Logic, 194.1-1; Grattan-Guinness, ‘The Royal Society’s financial support of the publication of Whitehead and Russell’s Principia Mathematica,’ Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 30 (1975), pp. 89-104.

Three volumes, large octavo (260 x 175mm). (A few ink notes and underlining, and slight crease to four upper corners in vol. I, small marginal stain in upper comer of vol. III pp.463-469, else clean.) Original blue cloth, spines lettered in gilt, sides panelled in blind (corners of lightly bumped, hinges cracked but holding firm, small abrasion and minuscule tear to spine of vol. II, small skilful repair to head of spine in vol. III, with foot a little frayed). Provenance: J C Brown (inscription on front pastedown to vol. III) – evidence of old bookplate on front free endpaper in vol. II.
Auction house category:Books
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
09.07.2020 – 30.07.2020
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.