900/​137

Tycho Brahe (b. Skåne 1546, d. Prague 1601)

Astronomiae instauratæ progymnasmata. Quorum haec prima pars De restitutione motuum solis & luna, stellarumque inerrantium tractat. Et praeterea de admiranda noua stella anno 1572 exorta luculenter agit. Frankfurt: Godefridum Tampachium 1610. 2nd ed. [Uranienb./Frankfurt 1592]. 4to. Numerous woodcuts of astronomical instruments, text diagrams and astronomical tables. No portrait. Incomplete copy (last page is 554), lacking last part sign. AAAA4-ZZZZ4 og AAAAA4-FFFFF4. (from 555–822 + 12). The 2 first leaves + sign. p1–8 og Q1–8 are printed in Frankfurt, the rest are printed in Brahe’s own printing house at Uranienborg, after 1592. Title page with frayed edges. Minor annotations in old handwriting. Bound in cont. full leather. Binding restored and with signs of wear. Enclosed 4 half (torn) leaves which supposedly are parts of a proof copy from Uranienborg.

The Progymnasmata describes Brahe's observations on the supernova in Cassiopeia of 1572–74 and his revisions of the theories of solar and lunar movement and a catalogue of the positions of 777 fixed stars.

“[...]. In 1610 a new issue was offered for sale by the Frankfurt bookseller Gottfried Tampach. Some of the pages had by then to be reprinted, but the number varies from copy to copy.” LN #433. Thesaurus #253.

Provenance: Flemming Erik Pedersen (1931–2020).

Auction

Paintings, furniture, carpets, decorative arts and books, 8 March 2021

Category
Estimate

8,000–10,000 DKK

Sold

Price realised

30,000 DKK