Ephemerides, the Norman copy - photo 1
Ephemerides, the Norman copy - photo 2

Ephemerides, the Norman copy

Lot 75
28.01.2025 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
To bid, go to the website
CHRISTIE'S
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
ID 1360791
Lot 75 | Ephemerides, the Norman copy
Estimate value
$ 12 000 – 18 000
CASSINI, Gian Domenico (1625-1712). Ephemerides Bononienses mediceorum syderum ex hypothesis. Bologna: Emilio Maria and Fratelli Manolessi, 1668.

The Haskell Norman copy of the first edition of Cassini’s tables of the movements of the four satellites of Jupiter discovered by Galileo. Lacking sufficiently precise and comprehensive observations, neither Galileo nor his successor at the University of Pisa, Vincenzo Renieri, were able to complete these tables, undertaken in hopes of finding a solution to the problem of determining longitude. Thanks to his friendship with the famous Roman lensmakers G. Campani and E. Divini, Cassini obtained powerful telescopes not available to his predecessors. His ephemerides, published shortly before his move to France, were employed for several decades both by navigators for calculating longitude and by fellow astronomers; Olaus Röhmer, for instance, used them in 1675 for his demonstration that light has a finite speed. They were superseded by more precise tables published by Cassini in Paris in 1693. Norman 411.

Small folio (280 x 195mm). Typographic tables, woodcut initials, type ornament headpiece (minor intermittent spotting). Contemporary limp gilt-paneled vellum. Provenance: Garisenda Antiquariato (bookseller's ticket on front pastedown) – 18th-century manuscript initials "O I S" on front endpaper (partially burnt through) – 19th-century shelfmark label on spine – Haskell F. Norman (1915-1996; bookplate; his sale, Christie's, New York, 15 June 1998, lot 353) – Owen Gingerich (bookplate).
Place of origin:Italy
Auction house category:Printed books
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
14.01.2025 – 28.01.2025
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.