51

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)

De Revolutionibus, A Fragment.

Basel: Henric Petri, 1566.
Folio, second edition, approximately 172 leaves; sold as a duplicate of the Royal Astronomical Society; disbound with many folios detached, currently tucked into its former binding, 19th century half parchment binding with marbled paper boards;11 1/2 x 7 3/4 in.

Internal notes indicate that Professor Gingerich purchased this second edition of Copernicus's De Revolutionibus as a defective copy in the early 1980s. When it was sold as a duplicate by the Royal Astronomical Society in 1949, it was already imperfect. Pencil notes on fly leaves declare: "lacks title and Aa3, lacks Rheticus at the end, lacks Aa4," and so on. Ever a bookman and friend to librarians, Gingerich sold leaves to several institutions with incomplete copies. Folios 94-95 went to the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; University of Rochester Library received folios 34-35 and leaves 106-107 were sold to the University of Pennsylvania. an unrelated engraved portrait of Copernicus from Bullart's 1682 biographical Academie des Arts & Sciences; Gingerich's notes and copies of correspondence with librarians accompany the lot.

  • Notes: Ex libris Professor, Astronomer, Historian & Bibliophile Owen Gingerich.
  • Condition: 3 preliminary leaves (without title page), a-d4, (full signatures present); e1, e4 (2 leaves), f-h4 (full signatures), i1, i4 (2 leaves), k-q4 (full signatures), s-u4 (full signatures), z4 (full signature), A1, A4 (2 leaves), B-C4 (full signatures), D1, D4 (2 leaves), E-O4 (full signatures), P1, P4 (2 leaves), Q-S4 (full signatures), T2, T3, U1, U3, U4 (5 leaves), X-Z4 (full signatures), Aa1, Aa2, Aa4 (3 leaves), Bb4 (full signature), Cc1, Cc2, Cc3 (3 leaves).

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    Grace Meschery-McCormack, Cataloguer: [email protected]


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