MARCH 23 2007 NATIONAL BOOK AUCTIONS LISTINGS - ITEMS SUBJECT TO CHANGE [FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 607-269-0101] • RETURN TO HOME PAGE

Friday, March 23rd, 2007

Starts at 5:00pm, Preview begins at 3:00pm

This auction will include approximately 4,000 books arranged in 350 lots. This auction is the first of two for this weekend, both covering the same categories. Review the catalog listings below for specific listings. The basic categories and highlights included in this auction will be American Literature History and Reference, German Literature History and Reference, History and Biographies of Science, Mathematics History and Theory, Astronomy History and Theory, Geology, and Botany. The lots will range from rare individual titles dating back to the early 1800s, to modern scholarly books arranged in small groups and box lots. Thanks for stopping by, see you at the auction!

Details/Condition: Bound in its original navy cloth boards with gilt embossing, this antique scientific text is a scarce "study in scientific method." This landmark methodology text built upon the then relatively recent work of Charles Darwin, and sought to establish a more intensive addressing of the subject of scientific method in research. From the preface: "As a rule, scientific men are so deeply engrossed in their investigations that they rarely undertake to discuss method. The logical processes involved and the nature of the difficulties met with in scientific investigation are the same as in the practical affairs of life. The fundamental processes of reasoning are the same everywhere; and it cannot but be helpful to study those processes as they are actually applied by master minds in fields where precision of method is peculiarly essential."

The volume shows some external age/wear concentrated at the extremities, and is solidly bound with hinge reinforcing. It has bright pages, library markings, a front endpaper bookplate, and a loose half-title page. The book measures approximately 7" x 4.75" and contains 232 pages, followed by a six-page publisher’s catalog. Shipping cost (within the U.S.) for this lot will be: $4.50
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Details/Condition: Bound in their original russet cloth boards with gilt embossing, this antique folio set is a very scarce chronicling of early astronomy works translated from papyri and other original writings. From the preface: "The majority of the texts which inform us about Egyptian astronomy have been published long ago, in the ‘Monuments’ of Napoleon’s expedition, by Lepsius and others, and in particular by Brugsch in his pioneering work on Egyptian astronomy, in vol. I of his Thesaurus (1891). Few of these texts, however, have received what may be called a critical and definitive publication. It is our goal to fill this desideratum and to make all these sources available, if possible, in modern photographs or drawings, supplemented by the necessary critical apparatus and commentary." Volume one of the set is entitled "The Early Decans," while volume two addresses "The Ramesside Star Clocks." The work is illustrated with many photographs and drawings of the uncovered records and is a landmark work in the field of early astronomy study.

Otto E. Neugebauer (May 26, 1899 - February 19, 1990) was an Austrian-American mathematician and historian of science who became known for his research on the history of astronomy and the other exact (i.e., mathematical) sciences in antiquity and into the Middle Ages. By studying clay tablets he discovered that the ancient Babylonians knew much more about mathematics and astronomy than had been previously realized. He has been called "the most original and productive scholar of the history of the exact sciences ... of our age" (from the N.A.S. biography). In 1931 he founded the mathematical reviewing journal Zentralblatt für Mathematik and in 1939, after the Zentralblatt was taken over by the Nazis, he founded Mathematical Reviews in the U.S.A. to take its place. In 1967 he was awarded the Henry Norris Russell Lectureship by the American Astronomical Society. In 1979 he received the Award for Distinguished Service to Mathematics from the Mathematical Association of America for founding these journals.

The volumes show light external age/wear, and are solidly bound with bright pages and library markings. The books measure approximately 11" x 14". Shipping cost (within the U.S.) for this lot will be: $14.50
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Condition/Details: Bound in russet cloth with gilt title embossing on the cover and a dust jacket with Brodart covering, this is an authorized facsimile of the original limited printing of 170 copies, which was released in Paris in 1924. The Hemingway estate authorized this facsimile re-print which was limited to 1700 copies. In Our Time was originally published as part of a six-title series edited and written by Ezra Pound, also including works by Ford Madox Ford, B. C. Windeler, William Carlos Williams and B. M. G. Adams. This book includes a woodcut frontispiece of the author, taken from a portrait by Henry Strater. The volume shows light external wear, and is solidly bound with clean pages and library markings. The book measures approximately 7" x 10.5" and contains 31 pages. Shipping cost (within the U.S.) for this lot will be: $4.50
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Details/Condition: This landmark mathematics text is based upon the discoveries by Heiberg and serves as "a supplement to The Works of Archimedes 1897." This work is bound in modern black cloth boards with gilt embossing, and the original wrappers have been preserved inside the new binding. The volume shows very light external age/wear thanks to a clear glassine dustjacket, and is solidly bound with bright pages and library markings. The book measures approximately 5.75" x 8.75" and contains 51 pages. Shipping cost (within the U.S.) for this lot will be: $4.50
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Notes: These eighteen volumes are bound in green cloth with gilt spine and cover titling on black fields. The books from this library are generally in good condition with some wear and library markings. Shipping cost (within the U.S.) for this lot will be: $49.50
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Notes: These volumes are from set # 310 of a limited Memorial Edition of 350. They are richly embossed with gilt spine titling and decorations of spine and covers. Four volumes are bound in blue cloth, one in green cloth, and three in red cloth. The books from this library are generally in good condition with some wear and library markings. Shipping cost (within the U.S.) for this lot will be: $16.50
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Notes: These six volumes are bound in brown cloth with gilt spine titling. There is black embossing on spines and covers. The books from this library are generally in good condition with some wear and library markings. Shipping cost (within the U.S.) for this lot will be: $10.50
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Notes: These nine volumes are bound in black cloth with silver spine titling. The dust jackets are present with Brodart covers. The books from this library are generally in good condition with some wear and library markings. Shipping cost (within the U.S.) for this lot will be: $12.50
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