Basel: Oporinus, 1550.
In the 1549 first edition of the Initia doctrinæ physicæ—essentially the first scientific textbook of the Reformation—Philipp Melanchthon refutes the heliocentrism of Copernicus with a single blow, invoking Ecclesiastes 4:5: “The earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets.” Moreover, he writes, referring to Copernicus.....
London: J. Legat and J. Okes, 1639.
A fine pairing of first editions of the English scientist and husbandman Gabriel Plattes's first two books: A Discovery of Infinite Treasure, a pioneering work on idealized solutions to agriculture problems, and A Discovery of Subterraneall Treasure, one of the first major works.....
Wittenberg: Joannes Berger, 1661.
First edition of the pioneering German zoologist and rector at University of Wittenberg Joannes Sperling's posthumous treatise on the characteristics and properties of fruits and tree nuts, as well as their medical and gastronomic uses. Sperling discusses lemons and limes, apples, citrons, hazelnuts and chestnuts, figs.....