Jacques Ozanam - Récréations Mathématiques et Physiques: La Gnomonique & la Cosmographie - 1749

Jacques Ozanam - Récréations Mathématiques et Physiques, qui contiennent plusieurs problèmes d'arithmétique, de géométrie, de musique, d'optique, de gnomonique, de cosmographie, de mécanique, de pyrotechnie, et de physique - Avec un traité nouveau des horloges élémentaires - nouvelles édition, revue, corrigée & augmentée - à Paris, chez Jacques Rollin, 1749 - (2) ff., 462 pages, (7) ff., (51) ff. of plates - period full calfskin binding - octavo - 13 x 20 cm.

Condition: Missing tailcap, a 4 cm crack on one joint, sound hinges, 1 cropped corner, 2 blunt corners, ribbed spine adorned with gilded fleurons and with garnet morocco title and volume number labels, 2 lacks of leather on the back cover, some mould and browning, red edges with some discoloured spots. This Volume 2 is complete.

Volume 2: illustrated with 51 out of text plates at the end.

Jacques Ozanam (1640-1717), French mathematician of the 17th century. He is particularly credited for his Récréations Mathématiques et Physiques (published in 1692), inspired by Bachet de Méziriac and completed by Montucla (4 volumes in 1778), "which contain the most remarkable problems and questions most likely to arouse curiosity in both mathematics and physics". The book provides a playful approach to mathematics through a number of entertaining problems and new calculation techniques, such as "finger multiplications". These “Récréations” are presented in the form of problems: Containing arithmetic, geometry, mechanics, optics, acoustics and music, the Traité des horloges élémentaires, ou de la manière de faire des horloges avec l'eau, la terre, l'air, et le feu translated from Italian by Dominique Martinelli de Spoleto published in Venice in 1663, astronomy, geography, calendar, navigation, architecture, pyrotechnics, physics, and in particular the phenomena of magnetism, electricity and chemistry. With supplements, on phosphors, as well as perpetual lamps and above all "tours de gibecière" (magic tricks).

Apart from the mentioned imperfections, this is a nice copy.