NEWTON. Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.

NEWTON, Isaac. Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.

Amstaelodami Sumptibus Societatis, 1714

4to. 242x190 mm. Contemporary quarter vellum binding with corners, marbled cardboard covers, double labels on spine with gilt decorations and title, sprayed edges. Pages (28), 484, (8). A large copper-engraved plate folded out of the text depicting the orbit of the comet, on page 464, numerous woodcut illustrations in the text. Title page in red and black with the printer's device of the ‘Compagnie del libraires’. Two ex libris from collectors from Bologna, one heraldic with the ‘Malvezzi’ coat of arms glued to the inside cover, the other in colour printed on the title page. Uniform browning due to the quality of the paper, overall a good copy.

Rare first edition of Amsterdam. This is the reprint of the second English edition published in Cambridge in 1713, the first to contain the "General Scholium" written in response to the objections of Berkeley and Leibniz. It was the first edition printed outside the UK of one of the milestones of human thought, but revised and corrected entirely in Amsterdam. the engravings were also made and added specifically for this edition. Babson: «The first Amsterdam reprint of the second edition of the Principia is a fine example of bookmaking».

The second English edition had been printed in such a small number of copies that a German publisher produced this rival edition to meet market demand; and it was this Dutch pirate edition that was reviewed by the Journal des savants in 1715 and by the Journal de Trévoux in 1718 (Shank, 122). In the Principia Newton accomplishes the unification between Galilean physics and Kepler's astronomy. In the second edition of the Principia Newton himself made substantial additions and corrections, confronting himself with the new discoveries and new theories formulated by his contemporaries; furthermore, this re-edition of the Principia was accompanied by a critical preface by Roger Cotes, his friend and collaborator. The work is divided into three books, the first examines the motion of bodies and contrast media, such as air and water; in the third book, called On the system of the world, Newton exposes the law of universal gravitation that acts, according to the A. in every place and for every body. The volume contains: Dedication to Charles II, followed by a poem by E.D. Halley to Newton and two prefaces by Newton, dated "Dabam Cantabrigiae and Collegio S. Trinitatis, Maii 8 1686" and "dabam Londini, Mar. 28 1713"; then the editorial preface edited by Roger Cotes, professor of astronomy and experimental philosophy at Trinity College, dated "Cantabrigiae Maii 12. 1713" and finally the "Index Capitum totius operis".