THE DESCRIPTION AND USE OF TWO ARITHMETICK INSTRUMENTS. Together with a short treatise, explaining and demonstrating the ordinary operations of arithmetick. As likewise, a Perpetual Almanack, and several useful Tables. MORLAND, Samuel. tick

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TITLE CONTINUED: Presented to His Most Excellent Majesty Charles II. King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, &c. By S. Morland. FIRST EDITION second issue 1673, small 8vo, approximately 150 x 90 mm, 6 x 3½ inches, MISSING ARE THE PORTRAIT AND 4 PLATES WHICH SHOW CALCULATING DEVICES (it seems that the 4 plates were on 1 large folding plate which was often cut up and pasted to the blank side of other pages), the portrait and 4 missing plates now supplied in modern facsimiles, present are 2 TITLE PAGES, the second dated 1672 and headed "A New, and most useful INSTRUMENT for ADDITION and SUBSTRACTION of Pounds, Shillings, Pence, and Farthings, Invented and Presented to His most Excellent Majesty CHARLES II, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, 1666. By S.Morland. And by the importunity of his very good friends, made publick 1672", 6 engraved plates, showing mechanical parts, the first printed on the reverse of the second title page, and on the reverse of pages 1-5, pagination: 1-[7]; Machina Nova Cyclologica or A New Multiplying Instrument, pages [8]-12; A Short Discourse Concerning Numbring, 4 engraved plates, pages 13-78, (some mispagination, all catchwords correct), the 4 engraved plates are printed on the verso of pages 23, 37, and 45, and recto of 30; An Explanation of the Perpetual Almanack, with engraved frontispiece, pages 1-5, 3 printed tables, 6 engraved tables, G1 placed before the engraved tables, G2 follows the tables with a small folding table inserted after G2; pages: [1-9], [20 tables]; 1-16, at foot of last page: "Ex. by me, Jonas Moore", collation: A-F8 (-F8), A-A4, G-G8 (-G8), B8, *8, G1 is misplaced amongst the tables of the Almanack, it is normally found after F7 or F8, F8 and G8 are often missing, they were both cancels. All known copies seem to vary in their make-up, position of plates and have erratic pagination. Bound in full early sheep, expertly rebacked to style with blind rules, no lettering or label. Corners very slightly worn, covers slightly rubbed, armorial bookplate of the 9th Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshall of England 1732-1777 on front pastedown, neat inscription dated 1907 in top margin of title page: "bought this off B. Quaritch on the first day of opening his new shop at 11 Grafton Street, 10 June 1907", title page very slightly trimmed at edges, tiny piece missing from corner of A3, tiny neat repair to fore-edge of A5 and slight loss of margin on A5v as page slightly misprinted, no loss of image, 2 tiny worm tracks in the lower margin of G4-B1, continuing as 2 minute holes to the final leaf, very slightly touching the numbers in the tables on G5, larger tracks on rear endpaper and pastedown, 1 margin has a small closed tear neatly repaired. A good clean copy (facsimiles of portrait and 4 plates, as noted). Considered to be the first book in English on a calculating machine. The first part describes "two early 'pocket' calculators, with gear wheels operated by a stylus, the first for addition and subtraction of sums of money, the second for multiplication and extraction of roots." See: Sotheby's, Honeyman Collection of Scientific Books and Manuscripts, Part V, 2257; "The final 16 pages contain "A table shewing the beginning of every king's reign, from the Conquest.", "Advice touching the posts, and roads.", "Forreign weights and measures" - Sotheby's Catalogue of the Macclesfield Collection, Part V, No.1451; Sotheby's, Erwin Tomash Library on the History of Computing, Part 1, page 242, No. 438-440: ESTC R 232354, Samuel Morland is mentioned several times in the diaries of John Evelyn and Samuel Pepys. MORE IMAGES ATTACHED TO THIS LISTING, ALL ZOOMABLE. FURTHER IMAGES ON REQUEST. POSTAGE AT COST.
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