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Good condition. This is the average used book, that has all pages or leaves present, but may include writing. Book may be ex-library with stamps and stickers. 1.95

In-4^, mm 250x190, pp. (10), 569 (1) XXII, con 17 belle tavole astronomiche e raffiguranti il fenomeno dell'aurora boreale, tutte le tavole più volte ripiegate. Legatura coeva in piena pelle, dorso a scomparti riccamente decorati in oro e titolo su tassello. Carte di guardia marmorizzate e tagli a spruzzo. Piccola mancanza alla cuffia superiore, lievi abrasioni ai piatti, nell'insieme esemplare fresco e ben conservato. Seconda edizione riveduta e aumentata di questa raccolta di memorie uscite per l'Accademia Reale delle Scienze. "Inquiry into the history and physics of the aurora borealis; the chapter on the relation between the aurora and the magnetic declination is of special interest. First edition appeared in 1733". Wheeler Gift I, 382.

Title printed in red & black with printer's device. Illustrated with 17 copperplate engraved folding plates (27 figures) and one folding table. [10], 392 pages. Short 8vo, older cloth-backed marbled boards. Amsterdam: Pierre Mortier, 1735. Light foxing, otherwise a near fine copy. An Amsterdam reprint of the earliest exhaustive treatise on the aurora borealis, two quarto editions of which had previously been published at Paris in 1733 and 1734. Mairan attributed the phenomenon of the aurora borealis to an extension of the sun's atmosphere, which at times, he supposed, enveloped the Earth, and blended with our atmosphere. The zodiacal light was similarly accounted for.

Mairan, Jean-Jacques D'Ortous (1678-1771). Traite Physique et Historique de l'Aurore Borelae. This work is offered as the entire volume of "Histoire de l'Academie Royale des Sciences Annee MDCCXXXI" published in Amsterdam by Pierre Mortier, 1735. (viii), 392pp, 168x100mm (6.75x 4"). 17 folding plates and one small folding table. Very nicely bound in full leather, with decorated six decorated spine panels. Very Good condition. Plates 6-8 and 10-12 and gorgeous representations of the aurorae, depicting it as best as possible as it would appear in nature. The small table (opposite p 278) is a chart of the aurorae borealis from 500 to 1731, listing the appearances by month (and then totaled), recording 229 occurrences. (Evidently in the 1754 edition this number is much increased upon further research to 1441 (through 1751).) [++] Mairan contributed a much shorter paper to the Academy (for 1726 and appearing in 1731) "Description de l'Aurore Boreale du 26 Septembre, et de celle du 19 Octobre, observees au Chateau de Breuillepont" running pp 283-308 in that volume (and illustrated with two lovely engraved folding plates). Conversely, there was also a much-expanded version that appeared in 1754, weighing in 584pp in quarto. To complicate this bibliographic foray a little further there was also a Paris 1733 edition of the same title as the one offered here, though in quarto, with 281pp and 15 plates. [++] "Mairan's "Physical and Historical Treatise on the Aurora Borealis" (1733) contains the first application of geophysical data to an astronomical problem."--Encyclopedia online. [++] "The aurora borealis is a spectacular phenomenon that have been recorded from the Assyrians and Babylonians.till nowadays. However, it is not until 1733 when Mairan (1733) suggested that the aurora could be caused by the solar atmosphere."--Chiara Bertolin et al. "An Early Mid-Latitude Aurora Observed by Rozier (Beausejour, 1780) [++] "Jean-Jacques Dortous de Mairan should be remembered principally for three things: his work on ice and on the aurora borealis; his lifelong obsession with Newton, despite his not undeserved reputation as a Cartesian; and lastly, his enormous influence on the development and spread of scientific culture in the eighteenth century because of his voluminous correspondence and his prominent position as secretary of the Academy of Sciences, the power center of the scientific establishment."--Complete DSB online. "Because of the fears generated by popular observations of northern lights in France in 1716, Mairan was commissioned by the Royal Academy of Sciences to give a rational explanation of the phenomenon. Unlike Edmond Halley, Mairan ascribed a major role to the Sun in the appearance of the aurora, and denied an electric or magnetic origin. During the 19th century, the cosmic theory of Mairan was discredited, for instance by François Arago and Alexander von Humboldt, who defended the atmospheric origin imagined by Halley. Finally, at the end of the 19th century, when aurora studies benefited from the recent discoveries of new radiations such as cathode rays, Mairan appeared as an important precursor of the new explanation of northern lights and the emergence of geophysics. We defend the idea that it was less the content of his theory than the historicity he gave to the aurora that enabled Mairan to construct this phenomenon as a scientific object, and thus remove it from the realm of marvels."--Stéphane Le Gars, "Dortous de Mairan and the Theory of Aurora Borealis: The Trajectory and Circulation of an Idea from 1733 to 1933" in Revue d histoire des sciences, volume 68, Issue 2, 2015, pages 311 to 333.

In-4°, (8), 281pp, (2), XV carte di tavola ripiegate incise da Ph. Simonneau, numerose illustrazioni calcografiche. Marca tipografica al frontespizio con stemma della casa reale di Francia con strumenti scientifici. Piccola galleria di tarli al margine inferiore, senza pregiudizio del testo. Legatura in piena pelle coeva, con titolo in oro al dorso su tassello, fregi in oro al dorso e nervature.

Suite des Memoires de l'Academie royale des sciences, annee M. DCCXXXI.

[12]-570-XXII pp., 17 planches Paris, Imprimerie Royale, 1754, in-4, [12]-570-XXII pp, 17 planches, basane marbrée, dos à nerfs orné, 17 planches dépliantes gravées en taille-douce par Ph. Simonneau. Deuxième édition parisienne (la première parue en 1733), augmentée de deux planches et d'importants "éclaircissements" de l'auteur. Ce traité comporte une liste très complète des aurores qui furent observées jusqu'en 1751. "The chapter on the relation between the aurora and the magnetic declination is of special interest" (Wheeler Gift). Dortous de Mairan (1678-1771) attribua l'aurore boréale à une extension de l'atmosphère du soleil, alors qu'il s'agit plutôt d'une interaction électrique entre les particules chargées du vent solaire et la haute atmosphère. Lalande p. 454. Poggendorff II-17. Wheeler Gift n° 382. Coiffes et mors restaurés.

[12]-570-XXII pp., 17 planches Paris, Imprimerie Royale, 1754, in-4, [12]-570-XXII pp, 17 planches, Veau marbré de l'époque, dos à nerfs et fleuronné, pièces de titre rouge et verte, armes dorées au centre des plats [Mailly-Haucourt], 17 planches dépliantes gravées en taille-douce par Ph. Simonneau. Deuxième édition parisienne (la première parue en 1733), augmentée de deux planches et d'importants "éclaircissements" de l'auteur. Ce traité comporte une liste très complète des aurores qui furent observées jusqu'en 1751. "The chapter on the relation between the aurora and the magnetic declination is of special interest" (Wheeler Gift). Dortous de Mairan (1678-1771) attribuait l'aurore boréale à une extension de l'atmosphère du soleil, alors qu'il s'agit plutôt d'une interaction électrique entre les particules chargées du vent solaire et la haute atmosphère. Reliure aux armes de Joseph-Augustin de Mailly, marquis d'Haucourt (1708-1794), lieutenant général du Roussillon et commandant en chef de cette province. OHR, pl. 2044, variante du fer n° 1. Étiquette armoriée contrecollée sur le titre. Très bel exemplaire. La reliure a été habilement restaurée. La planche XVII a été rognée trop court, avec une légère atteinte à l'illustration. Lalande p. 454. Poggendorff II-17. Wheeler Gift n° 382.

Paris, Imprimerie Royale, 1754, in-4°, (12) nn pp + 570 pp + xxii pp (index) + 17 engraved plates with a total of 36 illustrations (complete), bound in contemporary full calf, raised gilt spine, red leather title label on spine, sprinkled edges, marbled endpapers, triple gilt fillet on both covers, fine/good binding but with some restorations at extremeties (headcap, corners), fine crisp interior. Second and best edition of the earliest exhaustive treatise on the aurora borealis, whose height the author estimates as above 100 geographical miles, and which he supposes to be zodiacal light that has come into contact with the atmosphere. (Sotheran N°11308).