Algebra. SCHEUBEL. Algebrae compendiosa facilisque descriptio, qua depromuntur magna arithmetices miracula.

SCHEUBEL, Johannes. Algebrae compendiosa facilisque descriptio, qua depromuntur magna arithmetices miracula. 

Paris, Guillaume Cavellat, 1551

4to piccolo. 210 x 150 mm. Legatura antica in cartonato muto. Carte 52, incluso Frontespizio. Marca tipografia al Frontespizio, Iniziali xilografiche ornate, diagrammi matematici nel testo, carattere Italico e Tondo. Nota antica di appartenenza manoscritta nel margine inferiore del Frontespizio “Domus Professae Venetae Societ.(at)is Jesu”. Lievi tracce d’uso, bell’esemplare intonso. 

Rarissima prima e unica edizione. Importante opera di matematica: contiene la prima apparizione dei simboli + e - in Francia. Alla carta 6 il diagramma con la tabella delle potenze. Kolpas: “Scheubel’s Algebrae Compendiosa is an algebra that does not fully use modern notation. According to Florian Cajori …, the book contains the first appearance of the + and – symbols in France […] According to Cajori, mathematical encyclopaedist and textbook author Charles Hutton (1737-1823) felt that Algebrae Compendiosa was “most beautifully printed, and is a very clear though succinct treatise; and both in the form and matter much resembles a modern printed book [..] The table of powers above appears in Algebrae Compendiosa at page (or folio) 6 recto (or 6r).”

Smith, Rara Arithmetic: “While Scheubel is not much appreciated to-day, he was really ahead of his time. He tried to banish the expression 'rule of three' and to substitute 'rule of proportion.' His explanation of square root is in some respects the best of the century, and he dismisses with mere mention the 'duplatio' and 'meditatio' of his contemporaries. He extracts various roots as far as the 24th, finding the binomial coefficients by means of the Pascal triangle a century before Pascal made the device famous.”

Smith, History of Mathematics: “He gave the so-called Pascal Triangle a century before Pascal wrote upon it, and extracted roots as high as the 24th by a process similar to the one which employs the Binomial Theorem.”

Johannes Scheubel nacque nel 1494 a Kirchheim unter Teck, in Germania, e morì nel 1570 a Tubinga; frequentò la Scuola Latina di Kirchheim unter Teck, proseguendo gli studi presso l'Università di Arti Liberali di Vienna. Iniziò a insegnare nel 1532 a Lipsia, per poi essere nominato professore all'Università di Tubinga, dove divenne "Magister" nel 1540. Secondo Day, divenne "Docente di Matematica" nel 1544, insegnando aritmetica e geometria.

Adams, S-656; Smith, History of Mathematics I, 329 - Rara Arithmetica, pp. 235-236; Cajori, Florian. A History of Mathematical Notations. The Open Court Publishing Company, La Salle, Illinois, 1928, pp. 147-151.

Cfr. Sidney J. Kolpas, Mathematical Treasure: Johannes Scheubel's 1551 Algebra, in MMA online: https://old.maa.org/press/periodicals/convergence/mathematical-treasure-johannes-scheubels-1551-algebra