Euclid | The Elements of Geometrie, London, 1570, the first complete edition in English

Euclid

The Elements of Geometrie. ... Faithfully (now first) translated into the Englishe toung, by H. Billingsley. ... With a very fruitfull praeface made by M. J. Dee. London: John Day, 1570

First complete edition in English, including John Dee's famous "Mathematicall Preface"—perhaps his most interesting single work.

Sir Henry Billingsley, later mayor of London, used the translations of Campanus of Novara (a medieval Latin translation first printed in Venice in 1482) and Bartolomeo Zamberti (a new translation from Greek into Latin printed in 1505) for his edition of the Elements. Billingsley owned a copy of the Greek editio princeps, but his copy of the 1558 Basel compilation of Campanus and Zamberti contains copious annotations, and may well have served as the basis for his version rather than this copy of the Greek text (where the annotations are far fewer); both books are at Princeton. The famous preface by John Dee states quite clearly that the translation was intended to help "common artificers," and stresses the utilitarian aspect of geometry and the importance of experiment. It was reprinted in 1651 and Dee's preface was quoted in 1654 in the context of teaching mathematics in the universities as a practical subject.

Folio (318 x 216 mm). Title in woodcut border (McKerrow & Ferguson 99), numerous textual diagrams, 31 in Book XI with one or more moveable overslips that can be manipulated to form geometric figures (overslips originally printed, unassembled, on six bifolia at end of text), folding "Groundplat" table, historiated and ornamental initials, tailpieces, woodcut portrait in profile of John Day (McKerrow & Ferguson 145) at the end, occasional marginalia and underscoring; lacking terminal blank 3E4, some soiling mostly to preliminaries, hole costing a bit of text and paper flaw affecting side-note on A3, tear to folding table neatly repaired, corners creased, a few small holes and short tears. Contemporary roll-tooled calf over wooden boards; rebacked and recornered preserving some of original spine, upper board detached, scuffed with some loss, lacking clasps.

REFERENCES

Buffalo/Sparrow 58; Dibner Heralds 100n; Horblit sale 2:342; ESTC S106699; STC 10560; Taylor, Tudor and Stuart 41 (for Dee's preface); Thomas-Stanford 41; USTC 507133

PROVENANCE

"Ex dono: frater meus Iohannes Thorpeus," possibly John Thorpe F.R.S. (1682–1750), friend of Hans Sloane — "A. Barrett, 1854" (ownership inscription to front pastedown) — Lavens Ewart Collection (ticket on front pastedown) — Robert S. Dunham (acquired from Dawson's in July 1959; Sotheby's New York, 11 December 1993, lot 673)