Conicorum Lib. V. VI. VII. - photo 1
Conicorum Lib. V. VI. VII. - photo 2
Conicorum Lib. V. VI. VII. - photo 3

Conicorum Lib. V. VI. VII.

Lot 2
27.01.2023 10:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
$ 4 032
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 887775
Lot 2 | Conicorum Lib. V. VI. VII.
Estimate value
$ 3 500 – 4 500
APOLLONIUS OF PERGA (c.240-190 BCE) and ARCHIMEDES (attributed, c.287-212 BCE). Conicorum Lib. V. VI. VII. paraphraste Abalphato Asphahanensi nunc primum editi. Additus in calce Archimedis Assumptorum liber, ex codicibus Arabicis. Florence: Giuseppe Cocchini, 1661.

Fine and crisp large paper copy, in contemporary morocco, of the most original parts of Apollonius’s treatise on conic sections. Books I-IV of the Conics, at the time believed to be the only surviving sections of this work, had been translated and published in 1537. But in the early 17th century, the Medici family acquired an Arabic manuscript containing a free adaptation by Abu al-Fath al-Isfahani, based on the translation of Thabit ibn Qurra, of books V-VII—the most original and important parts of the treatise. "In 1658, with the help of Maronite scholar Abraham Ecchellensis, Giovanni Borelli prepared an edited Latin translation of this manuscript, which was published three years later. This was a valuable addition to the mathematical knowledge of the time … Book V discusses Apollonius’s proof for the construction of the evolute curve; Book VI treats congruent and similar conics and segments of conics; and Book VII is concerned with propositions about inequalities between various functions of conjugate diameters" (Norman). This publication also contains the first printing of the Assumptorum liber, attributed to Archimedes and also translated from the Arabic of Thabit ibn Qurra. Norman 58; Riccardi I 158.

Folio (344 x 230 mm). Half title. Title printed in red and black. Correction slips pasted on pp. 300, 312, and 352. Diagrams in text (light foxing in second half). Contemporary Italian gilt-paneled morocco, edges gilt (minor restoration to binding edges). Provenance: "J.R." in manuscript on flyleaf.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
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13.01.2023 – 27.01.2023
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