[Rarebooks] FS: 1733 Aurora Borealis Study with Engraved Plates

[Joslin Hall Rare Books]

TITLE: “Traite Physique et Historique de l'Aurore Bore'ale”

By Jean Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan.

Published in Paris; l'Imprimerie Royale in 1733.

DISCUSSION: 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.

DESCRIPTION: 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.

CONDITION NOTES: Some separation along the front hinge, but the cords are
tight (please see the photo). Some cover soil and scuffing, small hole in
the blank endsheet opposite the title page (see below), minor internal
soil, but wide-margined and quite nice.

PRICE: $875 -

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JOSLIN HALL RARE BOOKS, ABAA
Fine books of the 16th-20th centuries
on the decorative and fine arts & design

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