An educational and informational site about rare, old and antiquarian books.
In a popular science book, the English Chemist James Lovelock described his Gaia hypothesis to a lay readership. The hypothesis proposed that living organisms and inorganic material on Earth are part of a dynamic, integrated, self-regulating system that shapes the Earth’s biosphere, and maintains ideal conditions for life to flourish. Initially received with skepticism, the […]
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During the Golden Age of Islamic science, (750 to 1258 AD) European medical practice was influenced by the important contributions of Muslims such as Al-Razi “Rhazes” (d. 925), Abul Quasim Khalaf ibn al-Abbas al-Zahrawi “Albucasis” (940 – 1013), Ibn Sina (d. 1037). Al-Zahrawi considered to be the father of modern surgery, diagnosed and treated many […]
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On April 3rd of 1973, Martin Cooper, the leader of Motorola’s cell phone team, broke History. In a fashion reminiscent of Alexander Graham Bell 100 years prior, Cooper called Joel Engel, the research head of rival AT&T’s Bell Labs to say – “Joel, I’m calling you from a real cellular phone.” Historic breakthrough introductions such […]
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Books of inventions are a little-known category of Renaissance books: an excellent example is the 1578 the Théâtre des Instruments Mathématiques et Mécaniques de Jacques Besson, Dauphinois, Docte Mathématicien, published for the first time in 1571 or 1572 (Cornell University, Kroch Library, Division of Rare Books and Manuscripts, History of Science TJ144 B55 1578++). Born […]
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The field of mathematics has a long and fascinating origin. Its foundation is based in logic, which has greatly enhanced its significant development. This invaluable foundation in logic is seen in a work that took place in ancient Greece in the centuries preceding Euclid. I am currently reading a very interesting commentary on the history […]
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The first quarter of the year was another quarter of solid growth. As always, some of the genre and some of the authors in our Rare Books Sale Monitor (RBSM) performed better than others, but healthy fluctuations from one quarter to the next is the way sale pricing behaves. Take, for example, last quarter’s […]
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In 1543 Andreas Vesalius published his opus De Humani Corporis Fabrica Librorum Septem (Fabrica) and, later the same month, the companion volume De Humani Corporis Fabrica Librorum Epitome (Epitome). The two volumes are considered to be the foundation of modern Anatomy. Vesalius viewed the Epitome as an introduction for the novice in medicine, serving as […]
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When an Apple I computer was put up for sale at the Sotheby’s Fine Books and Manuscripts auction last month, we could not help but wonder how close we are to the times when such events will carry the additional “…and Electronic Devices” somewhere in the name. Let’s hope that we are nowhere near such […]
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About this time seven years ago, Christie’s auctioneers at Rockefeller Plaza in New York, sold a number of rare books, manuscripts, documents, offprint papers, etc., having as common denominator the topic of computer science. The event was titled “The Origins of Cyberspace” and it consisted of 133 lots and earned a total of 714,060 USD. While […]
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Among gloriously illuminated paper lanterns and grandiose and elaborate paper dragons, China will be observing the New Year – 2012, with an expanded advocacy toward book publishing, a significant and prominent boost of book sales, a strong multinational attendance of local book fair events, and an extremely rare Chinese book purchase by Brown University! In […]
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