100

Jeremiah Horrocks (1618-1641)

Opera Posthuma; viz. Astronomia Kepleriana, Defensa & Promota.

London: Prostant venales apud Mosem Pitt, 1678.
Quarto, several parts in one volume with divisional titles, second edition (sheets of the first 1673 edition re-issued with a new title page); illustrated with 3 folding engravings; bound in full contemporary English calf tooled in compartments (originally crafted with two patches to leather on front board, those patches have since flaked off, leaving two holes; otherwise a nicely preserved period binding); a few preliminary leaves with dusty discoloration to margins; minor black ink stain to tip of bottom outside corner affecting several signatures); 7 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.

Wing H-2869; ESTC R220112.

Horrocks was the first to show that the Moon orbits the Earth in an elliptical path. He predicted the 1639 Transit of Venus when he was only 21 years old and recorded his observations in real time. He was worried about a cloudy day, but was able to see the little speck of a shadow Venus was casting as it passed between the Earth and sun from about 3:15 pm on Sunday 23 November 1639 until the sun went down at about 3:53. He and his collaborator, William Crabtree (1610-1644) were both Keplerians, although they saw obvious flaws in his tables and made their own corrections. Kepler failed to predict the 1638 Transit of Mercury, but Crabtree figured it out in advance. Horrocks also calculated future transits of Venus, presenting as they do in pairs every 8 years.

  • Notes: Ex libris Professor, Astronomer, Historian & Bibliophile Owen Gingerich.
  • Condition: a-b4, B-3R4, [-]1, B-K4.

    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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