24

Giovanni Bianchini (1410-c. 1469)

Tabule.

Venice: Lucantonio Giunta, 1526.
Second edition, quarto; first edition was printed 1495; title page printed in red and black with printer's device in red (title stained and smudged with old marginal paper repairs on all four sides); contents otherwise very good; bound in later half parchment with marbled paper boards; rare, RBH shows very few copies sold only in 2012 and 2021; 8 1/2 x 6 1/4 in.

Bianchini is the first European mathematician to work out his trigonometry tables using positional fractions. Al-Kashi, a Persian astronomer, was doing the same at about the same time, independently. He is also credited as the first person to use the decimal point. For more see Jo Marchant's article in the journal Nature, "The Decimal Point is 150 years older than historians thought," in the 19 February 2024 issue.

  • Notes: Ex libris Professor, Astronomer, Historian & Bibliophile Owen Gingerich.
  • Condition: [1]-[2]8, [3]12, a-z8, [turned r]8, [con]8, [orum]8, A-Z8, [turned r]6.

    Please contact us to request a condition report:
    Devon Eastland, Senior Specialist: [email protected]
    Grace Meschery-McCormack, Cataloguer: [email protected]


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October 23, 2025 10:30 AM EDT
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