1839 — pp. xciv [Introduction in English], (1), 162 [Latin Text of De Arte Logistica] + Engraved frontispiece portrait of Napier; and a full page mezzotint style engraving of the old Castle Merchiston. Large 4to. 300 mm. Original cloth backed boards binding; joints cracked. Hardbound. Very good. First Edition. John Napier, 8th Laird of Merchiston, (1550-1617), was a Scottish mathematician - the Inventor of Logarithms. His 'Mirifici Logarithmorum Canonis Descriptio' (1614) contained the first logarithmic table and the first use of the word logarithm. His Rabdologiae (1617) gave various methods for abbreviating arithmetical calculations. One method of multiplication uses a system of numbered rods called Napier's rods, or Napier's bones; this was a major improvement on the ancient system of counters then in use. Napier also introduced the decimal point in writing numbers. The material here, dealing mainly with arithmetic and algebra, survived in manuscript form and was transcribed, after Napier's death, by his son Robert for the benefit of Henry Briggs, who further edited it. Sponsored by a descendant, Mark Napier, this is its first publication. From this work, it appears that Napier had investigated imaginary roots of equations, a subject he refers to as a great algebraic secret. SCARCE. **PRICE JUST REDUCED! OVERSIZE BX 4
