Nov 09, 2010 - Sale 2229

Sale 2229 - Lot 169

Unsold
Estimate: $ 500 - $ 750
ISRAELI, ISAAC BEN JOSEPH. Sefer Yesod Olam. 2 folding engraved plates of astronomical diagrams. [2], 2-93, [7] leaves. 4to, contemporary 1/2 mottled sheep, heavily worn; occasional marginal soiling and stains, final leaves dog-eared, last leaf cropped in outer margin slightly affecting text. Berlin, 1777

Additional Details

First edition of the major work by a 14th-century Spanish Jewish astronomer of Toledo. The book deals with the elements of geometry and trigonometry; the Ptolemaic model of the solar system, and the motions of the sun and moon; and the Jewish calendar and chronology. It concludes with tables and diagrams illustrating the author's theories. EJ IX, 1065; Sarton III, 691-92 ("the climax of mediaeval Jewish astronomy"); Vinograd, Berlin 289.