ID 870908
Lot 142 | GALILEI, Galileo (1564-1642) and Buonardo SAVI [Urbano D'AVISO, (b. 1618)]
Estimate value
£ 7 000 – 10 000
Trattato della sfera di Galileo Galilei, con alcune prattiche intorno a quella, e modo di fare la figura celeste, e suoi direttioni, secondo la via rationale. Rome: Nicolò Angelo Tinassi, for Domenico Grialdi, 1656.
First edition of an early work by Galileo but published posthumously, providing an outline of university-level Ptolemaic astronomy; a fresh copy in contemporary vellum. It is one of the few works documenting Galileo’s teaching activity in Padua and Pisa and allows a glimpse into the development of his scientific method prior to 1610, before the invention of the telescope. The text originated in lectures given by Galileo at Padua in the late 1590s. The subject of these lectures was probably Sacrobosco's De Sphaera, the most common teaching tool on astronomy at that time. It is unsurprising, therefore, that in this text Galileo adhered to the conventional Ptolemaic model, as described by Sacrobosco, in which a static earth is orbited by the sun and other planets, despite Galileo having embraced heliocentrism as early as 1597. The editor of this volume was Urbano D'Aviso, whose name appears in an anagram on the title. This copy conforms to the collation in Cinti, with a frontispiece, 2 folding tables and 2 engraved plates. Carli and Favaro 252; Cinti 133; Riccardi I, 519; S. Drake, Galileo at Work, Chicago 1978, 51-55; S. Drake, Essays on Galileo, ed. N.M. Swerdlow and T.H. Levere, 3 vols, Toronto 1999, I, 67.
12mo (136 x 70mm). Additional engraved title, 2 folding engraved plates and 2 folding letterpress tables, woodcut initials and head-pieces, a diagram and tables in text, errata at end, with the final blank (browning from quire C). Contemporary vellum, manuscript title on spine.
Special notice
No VAT on hammer price or buyer's premium.
Artist: | Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642) |
---|---|
Place of origin: | Italy, Europe |
Auction house category: | Printed books |
Artist: | Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642) |
---|---|
Place of origin: | Italy, Europe |
Auction house category: | Printed books |
Address of auction |
CHRISTIE'S 8 King Street, St. James's SW1Y 6QT London United Kingdom | |
---|---|---|
Preview |
| |
Phone | +44 (0)20 7839 9060 | |
Buyer Premium | see on Website | |
Conditions of purchase | Conditions of purchase |
More from Creator
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.