1744: EXTREMELY RARE TREATISE ON MAGIC SQUARES

*** NOTE THIS IS JUST SOME OF THE 219 BOOKS IN A CATALOG I MADE WITH KONSTANTINOPEL RARE BOOKS, ILAB FOR THE CANCELLED NY FAIR. IF YOU WOULD LIKE A PDF OF THE WHOLE CATALOG, PLEASE EMAIL WeBuyRareBooks@gmail.com*** https://www.konstantinopel.nl/Konstantinopel books2021.pdf

MEDIANO, PHELIPE. Quadrados magicos, que sobre los que figuraban los egypcios, y pygthagoricos, para la superticiosa [sic] adoración de sus falsos dioses :En Madrid : en la imprenta de Joachin Sanchez, 1744. FOLIO. 32 x 24 cm., [11], 36 single page woodblock plates of squares, and 37- 42 folding woodblock plates. Contemporary vellum, marbled pastedowns, text block detached form binding and laid in, some minor staining (plate 42 with small central damp stain) but overall very good.

Provenance: Provenance: Armorial ex-libris of Manuel González Salmón (Cádiz, 1778 – Madrid, 18 January 1832), the Spanish politician and diplomat who served twice as Prime Minister of Spain; also, "Le bibliophobe Bechtel". Not in Graesse. Not in Caillet. Not in Smith, Rara Arithmetica. Palau 159902 ("Hace muchos anos vimos esta obra")

"Magic squares were known to the Arabs and, perhaps, to the Hindus. Credit is given to the Byzantine writer, Moschopulus, who lived in Constantinople in the early part of the fifteenth century, for the introduction into Europe of these curious and ingenious products of mathematical thought. Medieval astrologers believed them to possess mystical properties and when engraved on silver plate to be a charm against plague. The first complete magic square which has been discovered in the Occident is that of the German painter, Albrecht Diirer, found on his celebrated wood-engraving, "Melancholia." [Ref: Cajori, F. History of Elementary Mathematics, p. 218]

This particular Spanish treatise is likely the single most elaborate early treatise dedicated to their construction. By the 18th century, the mysticism attached to magic squares had given way to their appreciation as recreational mathematics. By the nineteenth century, they were taken seriously and applied to problems dealing with probability and analysis. The folding plates here are of extraordinary complexity and difficulty, but the author has thankfully provided "resolutions" for each. The first "aprobacion", written by a professor of Salamanca, expresses great admiration for this astounding work. A second aprobacion quotes the "incomparable" Athanasius Kircher that number are the science of sciences, the true logic, and the path of knowledge. Very rare, no copies in the trade, there has never been a copy at auction, according to OCLC, no copies outside Spain. None trough KVK. Harvard, Princeton, Yale, NYPL independently checked.