[Rarebooks] fs: 1733 on the Aurora Borealis

[Joslin Hall Rare Books, ABAA]

Mairan, Jean Jacques d'Ortous de.  TRAITE PHYSIQUE ET HISTORIQUE DE 
l'AURORE BORE'ALE.

Paris l'Imprimerie Royale: 1733.

The first edition of a classic and beautiful work on the Aurora 
Borealis.Mairan (1678-1771) believed the phenomena to be attributable to 
"zodiacal light" and an extension of the Sun's atmosphere into our own. The 
plates, which were engraved by Philippe Simonneau, illustrate declinations 
as well as a number of views of the lights, with views of the lights at 
Giessen on the 17th of February, 1721, and Brevillepont on the 26th of 
September, 1726, the 19th of October, 1726 and the 6th of September, 1731. 
The problem of illustrating light with the engraver's tool is a daunting 
one, but Simonneau has created a series of evocative, vivid impressions.

Mairan was an interesting man, a member of the Academie Royale des 
Sciences, and a fellow of the Royal Society in London, with a wide circle 
of correspondence. He wrote a popular treatise on the formation of ice, and 
became interested in ancient China and Egypt, theorizing that the ancient 
Egyptians had established a colony in China. This book, the first major 
study of the Aurora, was reissued in 1754 with two additional plates.

Hardcover. 8"x10", [8] 281, [i] pages, 15 engraved folding plates bound in 
full period polished calf with gilt spine decorations, marbled endpapers. 
With a handsome engraved armorial bookplate (unidentified) and a small, 
modern label. Some separation along the front hinge, but the cords are 
tight. [2628] $1,500.00

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