The Philosophical and Mathematical Dictionary. Vols.I & II.

Spine loose on vol II. Black cloth spine with grey boards. Dimensions are for one volume. Contents very good but binding poor.

Due to the poor condition of the binding a 50% price reduction to £595.00 is given on this volume.

Outwardly these two volumes are housed in a homemade construct of a binding, otherwise the interior and contents are in fine order.

2 vols.: viii, 760 p. + plates; 628 p. + plates. 28 cm. 24 plates in vol. I and plates 25 to 41 in vol. II. Small figures within text. New bindings by Keith Felton of Georgetown. Quarter leather with marbled boards, gilt trim, new endpapers. Ink signatures of Jas. A. Cox, Hamilton, Ont. on front endpapers. Ink notations on title versos. Moderate foxing and thumbing. Title continues: "Containing an Explanation of the Terms, and an Account of the Several Subjects, Comprised under the Heads Mathematics, Astronomy, and Philosophy Both Natural and Experimental; With an Historical Account of the Rise, Progress, and Present State of these Sciences; Also Memoirs of the Lives and Writings of the Most Eminent Authors, Both Ancient and Modern, Who by their Discoveries or Improvements have Contributed to the Advancement of Them."

Charles Hutton (1737- 1823) was an English mathematician and surveyor, as well as professor of mathematics at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich from 1773 to 1807. He is probably best remembered for his calculation of the density of the earth ca. 1774, but this dictionary was a valuable contribution to scientific biography. Fascinating plates include No. XII, a General View of Fortification, and No. XV, Herschel's Telescope. New edition, with numerous additions and improvements.