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MAIRE, CHRISTOPHER, S.J.; and BOSCOVICH, ROGER JOSEPH, S.J. De litteraria expeditione per Pontificiam ditionem ad dimetiendos duos meridiani gradus et corrigendam mappam geographicam. 4 folding engraved plates. Title in red and black with woodcut arms of Pope Benedict XIV. [iii]-xxi, [1], 516, [4] pages, including 2 leaves of errata at end; lacks half-title. 4to, old marbled boards, later mottled sheep back and corners, front joint starting, hinges reinforced; some heavy foxing on preliminaries, scattered foxing elsewhere not affecting plates, marginal stains on a few leaves in middle of volume. Rome: Niccolò & Marco Palearini, 1755
First edition of a report on the measurement by Maire and Boscovich of 2 degrees of the meridian between Rome and Rimini, a project commissioned by Pope Benedict XIV. "Its results confirmed, among other things, the geodetic consequences of unevenness in the earth's strata, the possibility of determining surface irregularities by such measurements, as well as the deviation of meridians and parallels from a properly spherical shape"--DSB II, 329. Honeyman Sale 2115 (the last copy recorded by American Book Prices Current); Riccardi I, 179; Whyte, page 218.
