Authors listed alphabetically:

Important volume documenting the scientific advances of early America, in original boards

[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]. Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Volume I, parts I-III. Boston: Adams and Nourse, 1785. Quarto, original publisher's drab boards and paper spine. First edition of the inaugural volume of the Memoirs one of the United States's most important and influential intellectual societies. 

$1450
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the discovery of the positron, the first antiparticle

ANDERSON, Carl. The Positive Electron. Lancaster, PA, 1933. Quarto, the complete issue in original printed wrappers. FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS of Carl Anderson's announcement of the discovery of the positron, the first antiparticle.

$2100
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electrolytic theory of disassociation

ARRHENIUS, Svante. Recherches sur la conductabilite galvanique des electrolytes. Stockholm: Norstedt, 1884. Octavo (216 x 136mm), both volumes in original printed wrappers. FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS, of Arrhenius's landmark discovery of the theory of electrolytic disassociation. Arrhenius was awarded the 1903 Nobel Prize in chemistry "in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered to the advancement of chemistry by his electrolytic theory of dissociation."

$1600
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Babbage's first published book

BABBAGE, Charles. BABBAGE, Charles. A comparative view of the various institutions for the assurance of lives. London: printed for J. Mawman and sold by J. Booth, 1826. First edition of Babbage's first published book, the first thorough treatise on actuarial theory, complete with folding table of mortality statistics, generally considered the first reliable life table.

$1800
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Charles Babbage’s machine logic,
an outstanding copy in scarce original wrappers

BABBAGE, Charles. On a method of expressing by signs the action of machinery. In Philosophical Transactions 116, pt. 3 (1826): 250-65. Original plain blue wrappers, uncut. First edition in journal form of Charles Babbage’s system of mechanical notation, important to the development of the early computer. A truly remarkable copy: the complete issue in scarce original wrappers. 

$4600
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the foundation of a new branch of mathematics

BABBAGE, Charles. BABBAGE, Charles. An essay towards the calculus of functions [Part I]. In Phil. Trans. London: W. Bulmer & Co., 1815. WITH: An essay towards the calculus of functions, Part II. 1816. London: W. Bulmer & Co., 1815-16. Two complete journal issues, uncut and largely unopened. First editions, journal issues, of Babbage's two most important contributions to mathematics, essentially founding the general theory of the calculus of functions.

$3000
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the invention of the transistor

BARDEEN, John, and BRATTAIN, William. "Physical Principles Involved in Transistor Action." In The Bell System Technical Journal, Vol. 28, No. 2, April 1949 (pp. 239-277). WITH: BARDEEN, John, and BRATTAIN, William, and SHOCKLEY, William, et al., ibid, Vol. 28, No. 3. July, 1949. Two issues, both in original wrappers. Two landmark journals documenting the revolutionary invention of the transistor: the April 1949 issue of The Bell System Technical Journal containing the first description of the invention (published simultaneously in The Physical Review), and the famous July 1949 “Semiconductor Issue” dedicated entirely to the discuss of the transistor and semiconductor devices. Fine copies.

$3800
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superconductivity

BARDEEN, J., L. N. COOPER & J. R. SCHRIEFFER. Theory of Superconductivity, In The Physical Review. Lancaster, PA, 1957. Original blue printed wrappers. First printing in original wrappers of arguably the most important paper in the field of superconductivity.

$5000
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the most beautifully illustrated work on the brain

BELL, Sir Charles. The Anatomy of the Brain, explained in a Series of Engravings. London: C. Whittingham for T.N. Longman and O. Rees [et al.], 1802. First edition of Bell's detailed work on the anatomy of the brain, with 12 exquisite stipple-engraved plates, 11 with original hand-coloring. Scarce.

$11,000
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foundational paper in biotechnology

BERG, Paul; JACKSON, David A.; SYMONS, Robert H. Biochemical Method for Inserting New Genertic Information into DNA of Simian Virus 40. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, October 1972. Quarto, original wrappers. FIRST EDITION of the landmark paper marking the birth of recombinant DNA technology. Paul Berg was awarded half of the 1980 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his fundamental studies of the biochemistry of nucleic acids, with particular regard to recombinant-DNA".

$1900
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"one of the greatest modern advances in therapy":
the discovery of surgical anesthesia

BIGELOW, Henry Jacob. Insensibility During Surgical Operations Produced by Inhalation. In: The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal. Boston: David Clapp, 1847. First edition of the first announcement of the successful use of anesthesia during surgical operations, one of the greatest discoveries of nineteenth-century medicine.

$5300
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one of the most influential approaches to quantum theory

BOHM, David. Suggested Interpretation of the Quantum Theory in Terms of "Hidden" Variables. Parts I-II (all). In: The Physical Review, Second Series, Volume 85, Number 2, pp. 166-193. Lancaster, PA, 1952. Quarto, the complete issue in original blue wrappers; custom box. FIRST EDITION of David Bohm's deterministic "hidden variables" approach to quantum theory.

$2100
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presentation offprint of Bohr's first paper

BOHR, Niels. Determination of the Surface-Tension of Water by the Method of Jet Vibration. Offprint from: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series A, Vol. 209. London: The Royal Society, 1909. FIRST EDITION OFFPRINT, PRESENTATION COPY, of Bohr's first published scientific paper, written while he was a 20-year-old student at Copenhagen University. Inscribed by Bohr in Danish on front wrapper to Poul Heegaard, mathematician and professor at Copenhagen University.

$9400
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a scientific association of great significance:
important paper by Niels Bohr
inscribed to colleague and friend, H.G. Moseley

BOHR, Niels. On the Theory of the Decrease of Velocity of Moving Electrified Particles on Passing Through Matter. Offprint from Philosophical Magazine, 6^th series, vol. 25, no. 145, pp.10-31 (January 1913). London: Philosophical Magazine, 1913. Octavo, original printed wrappers. First edition, scarce offprint issue, of one of Niels Bohr’s most important papers, inscribed on the front wrapper to scientist H.G. Moseley: “Mr. H.G. Moseley / with the best compliments / from the author”.

$13,000
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the foundation for the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics

BOHR, Niels. The Quantum Postulate and the Recent Development of Atomic Theory. IN: Nature, vol. 121, no. 3050, April 14, 1928. Octavo, the complete issue in original wrappers; custom cloth box. FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS of Bohr’s statement of his ‘complementarity’ principle, the basis of what became known as the ‘Copenhagen interpretation’ of quantum mechanics.

$4800
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Bohr's Nobel Prize lecture, inscribed by Bohr

BOHR, Niels. Om Atomernes Bygning. Copenhagen: Jul. Gjellerup, 1923. FIRST EDITION, offprint issue, of Niels Bohr's Nobel Prize lecture, "The Structure of the Atom"; INSCRIBED by Bohr in Danish on the half-title. In fine signed binding.

$1650
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“exerted a profound influence on the course of events” in modern physics 

BOHR, Niels; KRAMERS, Hendrik, Anthony; and SLATER, John Clarke. Uber die Quantentheorie der Strahlung, In Zeitschrift fur Physik. Braunschweig and Berlin: Vieweg & Sohn, Springer, 1924. Text in German. First printing of Bohr, Kramers, and Clarke’s influential paper that “contained drastic theoretical proposals concerning the interaction of light and matter."

$500
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with 238 hand-colored plates

BREE, Charles Robert. A History of the Birds of Europe not Observed in the British Isles. London: Groombridge and Sons, 1859, 1860, 1862, 1863. Quarto, contemporary three-quarter morocco gilt, marbled endpapers. Four volumes. First editions of Charles Bree's exquisitely illustrated History of the Birds of Europe. Complete with 238 hand-colored tinted lithographed plates (180 of birds, 58 of eggs).

$2900
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first evidence of molecular motion

BROWN, Robert. A Brief Account of Microscopical Observations… and on the General Existence of Active Molecules in Organic and Inorganic Bodies. FIRST PUBLISHED EDITION of Robert Brown’s description of the molecular phenomenon later known as “Brownian motion”. WITH: Brown's subsequent paper: Additional Remarks on Active Molecules.

$6500
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the first modern analog computer

$2800
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the most beautiful of all pathological atlases,
with 48 stunning hand-colored plates

$25,000
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foundation of the Internet

$8500
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foundation of thermodynamics

$4600
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landmark in computer history

$5000
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artificial radioactivity

CURIE, Irène; JOLIOT, F. Un nouveau type de radioactivité. Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1934. FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS announcing the discovery of artificial radioactivity. Curie and Joliot were awarded the 1935 Nobel Prize in chemistry  for "their synthesis of new radioactive elements." “One of the most important discoveries of the century... The consequences of the discovery of artificial radioactivity are immense" (Segrè, From X-rays to Quarks, 198-199).

$4200
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scientific classic in original boards

D'ALEMBERT, Jean Le Rond. Traité de Dynamique. Paris: David L'Aine, 1743. With engraved title-vignette, head and tail pieces, 5-line initial, and 4 engraved folding plates at end. Quarto, original marbled boards with paper spine label. FIRST EDITION of one of the great classics in the history of science: d'Alembert's formalization of the new science of mechanics. A magnificent copy in original boards. PMM 195.

$11,000
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the atomic theory and the birth of modern chemistry

DALTON, John. On the Absorption of Gases by Water and other Liquids. In: Memoirs of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester. Octavo, original publisher's boards rebacked; uncut.  SCARCE FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL BOARDS OF THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF DALTON'S ATOMIC THEORY OF MATTER, including the FIRST TABLE OF ATOMIC WEIGHTS and DALTON'S LAW OF PARTIAL PRESSURES.  

$12,000
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the Davy lamp

DAVY, Humphry. On the fire-damp of coal mines and on methods of lighting the mines so as to prevent its explosion", pp. 1-24 in Phil. Trans. 105 (1816). Uncut and mostly unopened. Whole issue offered. First edition of the first announcement of the Davy's treatise on his famous safety lamp which enabled miners to carry a light without the danger of igniting the methane gas found in coal mines; precedes the 1818 book Davy wrote on the subject.

$2600
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"remains the basis of our modern scientific outlook"

$14,500
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milestones in the development of the laser, with two major Einstein papers

$12,500
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E = mc²

$6500
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essential anatomical atlas

EUSTACHIUS, Bartholomeo. Tabulae Anatomicae. Rome: Francesco Gonzaga, 1714. Folio (384 x 356 mm). First edition, a wide-margined copy in contemporary full calf, of the great anatomical atlas of Eustachius, complete with engraved title vignette after Pier Leone Ghezze and 47 full-page copperplate engravings by Giulio de' Musi after drawings by Eustachius and Pier Matteo Pini. 

$12,000
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inscribed by Faraday to Avogadro

FARADAY, Michael. On a Peculiar Class of Acoustical Figures; and on certain Forms assumed by groups of particles upon vibrating elastic Surfaces. PRESENTATION COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION, OFFPRINT ISSUE, of one of Faraday's important works documenting his quest to understand the nature of electricity. Presentation inscription ("Le Chevalier Avogadro... from the author") on title-page in Faraday’s hand to Count Amadeo Avogadro, Italian physicist and chemist.

$5000
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Feynman diagrams

FEYNMAN, Richard. Space-Time Approach to Quantum Electrodynamics. WITH: Theory of Positrons. Lancaster, PA, 1949. Quarto, the complete issue in original printed wrappers. FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS of the introduction and development of the famous Feynman diagrams, providing for the first time a clear and accurate representation of particle interactions.

$3700
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the origin of psychoanalysis

$9000
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"a new periodic table"

$2200
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"the father of rocketry"

GODDARD, Robert H. A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes (with 10 plates), In Smithsonian Misc. Collections. Washington: The Smithsonian Institution, 1919. First edition, first printing of Robert Goddard's famous explanation of the powerful potential of rocketry and, specifically, on the possibility of projecting an object beyond the atmosphere of the Earth.

$6500
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the Horblit copy, in scarce original wrappers

GODDARD, Robert H. A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes (with 10 plates), In Smithsonian Misc. Collections.  Washington: The Smithsonian Institution, 1919. Original brown wrappers. First edition, first printing in original wrappers of Robert Goddard's famous explanation of the powerful potential of rocketry and, specifically, on the possibility of projecting an object beyond the atmosphere of the Earth. 

$9000
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essential to the development of modern science

GUERICKE, Otto von. Experimenta Nova. Amsterdam: Johanned Jansson Waesberge, 1672. FIRST EDITION OF ONE OF THE GREAT SCIENTIFIC CLASSICS: "ranks next to Gilbert's in the number and importance of the electrical discoveries described." An outstanding copy, with plates and text exceptionally clean.

$55,000
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"turning point in the development of mathematics"

HAMILTON, William Rowan. On Quaternions. London: Richard and John E. Taylor, 1844. Octavo, early contemporary half calf over marbled boards. FIRST APPEARANCE of the first presentation of Hamilton's Quaternions, "a turning point in the development of mathematics" that "made possible the creation of the general theory of relativity" (Pickering; PMM).

$3800
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essential to the study of electricity

HAUKSBEE, Francis the Elder. Physico-Mechanical Experiments on Various Subjects. Containing an Account of several Surprizing Phenomena touching Light and Electricity... London: R. Brugis for the Author, 1709. First edition, with 8 engraved plates (7 folding), of Hauksbee's highly influential discoveries concerning electricity. A strong influence on Priestley, Franklin, and Isaac Newton. Rare.

$7800
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the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle

HEISENBERG, Werner. Uber den anschaulichen Inhalt der quantentheoretischen Kinematik und Mechanik. FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, one of the most important and celebrated findings in modern physics. Rare.

$9000
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the foundation of quantum mechanics

$3800
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the birth of wireless communication

HERTZ, Heinrich. Ueber sehr schnelle electrische Schwingungen. with: Nachtrag zu der Abhandlung über sehr schnelle electrische Schwingungen. with: Ueber einen Einfluss des ultravioletten Lichtes auf die electrische Entladung. In: Annalen der Physik. Leipzig: Johann Ambrosius Barth, 1887. First printing of Hertz's first three papers on electromagnetic waves; the foundation for wireless communication. Finely bound.

$2500
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Hertz's Electric Waves, first edition in English

HERTZ, Heinrich. Electric Waves... Preface by William Thompson, Lord Kelvin. London and New York: Macmillan and Co., 1893. First edition in English in original cloth of Hertz's collected papers on electromagnetic waves; the foundation for wireless communication. Originally published in German in 1892, the collected edition gathers together Hertz's important journal publications from 1887-1892 with the addition of an introduction in which Hertz surveys and analyzes his work of the past five years.

$1900
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Edwin Hubble and the expansion of the universe

HUBBLE, Edwin. A Relation between Distance and Radial Velocity among Extra-Galactic Nebulae. [Washington, D.C.]: Carnegie Institution, 1929. FIRST EDITION of Edwin Hubble’s landmark paper documenting what would later become known as Hubble’s Law, stating that there is a proportional relationship between a galaxy’s recession velocity and its distance from the Earth. One of the most profound discoveries in science, Hubble's discovery “made as great a change in man’s conception of the universe as the Copernican revolution 400 years before" (DSB).

$8500
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"Among the most important fundamental astronomical discoveries of the twentieth century"

JANSKY, Karl Guthe. Directional Studies of Atmospherics at High Frequencies, et al. FIRST EDITIONS IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS of Karl Jansky's ground-breaking papers announcing the discovery of radio astronomy, a new science that has become one of the essential methods for making modern astronomical observations.

$3800
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the first machine to perform calculations at superhuman speed

JEVONS, W. Stanley. On the Mechanical Performance of Logical Inference. London: Taylor and Francis, 1870. FIRST EDITION of Jevons's explanation of his "logical piano"; a landmark in computer science.  

$2300
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Joule's Law

JOULE, James Prescott. On the Heat Evolved by Metallic Conductors of Electricity and in the Cells of a Battery During Electrolysis. London: Richard and John E. Taylor, 1841. Octavo, contemporary three-quarter calf. FIRST EDITION of the derivation of Joule's Law, one of the fundamental laws of electricity.

$4600
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historic advancement in particle physics

LEE, T.D.; YANG, C.N.  Question of Parity Conservation in Weak Interactions. In: The Physical Review, Second Series, Vol 104, No. 1, pp. 254-258. Lancaster, PA and New York, NY: American Institute of Physics, 1956. Quarto, original printed wrappers; custom box. FIRST EDITION in original wrappers of Lee and Yang's groundbreaking proposal to determine the nature of parity in weak interactions; essential to the modern understanding of elementary particles.

$2800
(details)

First issue of Maxwell's Treatise

MAXWELL, James Clerk. A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1873. Octavo, early three-quarter burgundy morocco. Two volumes. FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE of one of the most influential works in the history of science. A fine copy with interesting provenance.

$9000
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the Maxwell distribution

MAXWELL, James Clerk. Illustrations of the Dynamical Theory of Gases. London: Taylor and Francis, 1860. FIRST EDITION of one of Maxwell’s greatest and most influential contributions: the creation of the Maxwell distribution of molecular velocities.

$5500
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first confirmation of Maxwell's electromagnetic theory

[MAXWELL, James Clerk]. LEBEDEV, P.N. Untersuchungen über die Druckkräfte des Lichtes [The Experimental Study of the Pressure of Light. First edition in original wrappers of the account of Lebedev’s dramatic experiment proving that light exerts a mechanical pressure on material bodies; a cornerstone discovery in modern physics that offered the first quantitative confirmation of Maxwell’s electromagnetic theory.

$2500
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the discovery of nuclear fission

MEITNER, Lise; FRISCH, DR. O.R.; et al. Disintegration of Uranium by Neutrons; Physical Evidence for the Division of Heavy Nuclei under Neutron Bombardment; Liberation of Neutrons in the Nuclear Explosion of Uranium. FIRST PRINTINGS IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS of three critically important articles documenting the discovery of nuclear fission, including Meitner and Frisch's "Disintegration of Uranium by Neutron", the first announcement of the new process. PMM 422b,c,d.

$2600
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"one of the greatest achievements in physics"

MICHELSON, Albert A.; MORLEY, Edward A. On the Relative Motion of the Earth and the Luminiferous Aether. In: The American Journal of Science, third Series (1887), no.203, pp.333-345. New Haven, 1887. RARE FIRST PRINTING of the account and description of the famous Michelson-Morley experiment, casting doubt on many of the fundamental assumptions of classical physics and leading to the startling and transforming conclusion that the speed of light is a fundamental constant independent of a frame of reference. Exquisitely bound.

$9500
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Millikan's famous "Oil Drop" experiment
to determine electron charge

MILLIKAN, Robert Andrews. A new modification of the cloud method of determining the elementary electrical charge and the most probable value of that charge, in The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Phil. Mag. London: Taylor and Francis, 1910. First printing of one of the most important experiments in modern physics, providing the first definitive proof that electric charge is made up of elementary indivisible quantities, and the determination of the value of e, the electron charge.

$1500
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the space-time continuum- PMM 401

MINKOWSKI, Hermann. Raum und Zeit. In: Jahresbericht der deutschen Mathematiker-Vereinigung, volume XVIII, pp.75-88. Leipzig: Teubner, 1909. FIRST EDITION of Minkowski’s explanation of the fourth dimension, a critical bridge between Einstein’s theories of special and general relativity. PMM 401.

$1900
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the foundation of pathological anatomy,
“one of the most fundamentally important works in the history of medicine”

MORGAGNI, Giovanni Battista. The Seats and Causes of Diseases investigated by Anatomy... London: A. Millar, T. Cadell, Johnson and Payne, 1769. Three volumes. First edition in English of the founding work of modern pathological anatomy, and the only complete translation into English. 

$5000
(details)

A beautiful copy

[NEWTON, Isaac]. PEMBERTON, Henry. A View of Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophy.London: S. Palmer, 1728. Quarto, modern antique-style full paneled calf. Extremely wide margins. An outstanding copy. FIRST EDITION, complete with 12 engraved plates (11 folding), of Pemberton's influential study of Isaac Newton.

$3000
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first edition of an important paper by Isaac Newton

NEWTON, Isaac. A true Copy of a Paper found, in the Hand Writing of Sir Isaac Newton, among the Papers of the Late Dr. Halley, containing a Description of an Instrument for observing the Moon's Distance from the Fixt Stars at Sea, in Phil. Trans., no. 465, pp. 155-6. London: 1742. First edition of a posthumously published paper by Isaac Newton describing the basis for the invention of what became known as "Hadley's quadrant", the most accurate nautical navigational device of its time.

$1100
(details)

Ohm's Law

OHM, Georg Simon. Bestimmung des Gesetzes... In: Journal für Chemie und Physik. Hrsg. v. J. S. C. Schweigger u. W. Schweigger-Seidel, vol. 46, pp. 137-166. Halle: 1826. FIRST EDITION of the experimental proof of Ohm's law, "the fundamental law of electric circuits" (Dibner 63).

$2800
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Pauli exclusion principle

PAULI, Wolfgang. Uber den Zusammenhang des Abschlusses der Elektronengruppen im atom mit der Komplexstruktur der Spektren. In Zeitschrift fur Physik, Vol 31, pp. 765-783. Berlin: Julius Springer, 1925. FIRST EDITION of Pauli’s landmark discovery of a new law of nature: that no two electrons in an atom can be at the same time in the same state or configuration. The Pauli Exclusion Principle became essential in defining the characteristic properties of elements.

$3800
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milestone in statistics  

PEARSON, Karl. On the Criterion that a Given System of Deviations from the Probable in the Case of a Correlated System of Variables is such that it Can Reasonably Be Supposed to have Arisen from Random Sampling. London: Taylor & Francis, 1900. FIRST EDITION of one of the most important papers in the history of statistics, introducing the ‘chi-squared’ test of goodness of fit, "one of the most useful of all statistical tests" and "one of Pearson's greatest single contributions to statistical methodology" (DSB).

$1200
(details)

first edition of Max Planck’s collected work in thermodynamics

PLANCK, Max. PLANCK, Max and LUDWIG, Karl Ernst. Vorlesungen uber Thermodynamik. Leipzig: Von Veit & Comp., 1897. First edition of Planck’s popular collection of fundamental papers on thermodynamics. "Planck's Vorlesungen was effective for more than thirty years as an extremely clear, systematic, and skillful presentation of thermodynamics” (DSB).

$600
(details)

one of the most influential works in the history of chemistry (PMM 217)

PRIESTLEY, Joseph. Observations on different kinds of air, in Philosophical Transactions. London: Lockyer Davis, 1772. First printing of Joseph Priestley’s major work on gas theory, preceding by two years its appearance in book form. Includes a wealth of discoveries and advancements that would set the course for future studies in chemistry. Among other things, Priestley's work includes the discovery of hydrochloric acid and nitric acid, the first description of photosynthesis, crucial observations that would lead to his identification of oxygen, and new experimental techniques that would lead to the discovery of a multitude of new gases. 

$4000
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"completely revolutionized the study of chemistry and physics" (PMM, 380)

RÖNTGEN, Wilhelm Conrad. Ueber eine neue Art von Strahlen [About a new kind of rays], parts I and II. WITH: Weitere Beobachtungen uber die Eigenschaften der X-Strahlen [Further observations about the properties of X-rays], in Annalen der Physik. Leipzig: Barth-Verlag, 1898. First complete edition of Rontgen’s announcement of the discovery of the X-Ray.

$2400
(details)

an important milestone in artificial intelligence

ROSENBLATT, Frank. The Perceptron: A Probabilistic Model for Information Storage and Organization in the Brain. In, Psychological Review, November 1958. Lancaster, PA and Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 1958. Original blue wrappers; custom box. First edition of Frank Rosenblatt’s widely influential contribution to the field of artificial intelligence: the introduction of the perceptron, a “hypothetical nervous system” designed to mimic some of the organizational systems used in the brain.   

$2300
(details)

the splitting of the atom  

RUTHERFORD, Ernest. Collision of alpha Particles with Light Atoms; An Anomalous Effect in Nitrogen. In: The Philosophical Magazine, Vol. 37, No. 222, pp.537-87. London: Taylor and Francis, 1919. Octavo, contemporary three-quarter calf, marbled boards. FIRST EDITION of Ernest Rutherford's announcement of the splitting of the atom and the discovery of the proton. PMM 411.

$2300
(details)

first edition of Santorini's great anatomical work

SANTORINI, Giovanni Domenico. Observationes anatomicae. Venice: Giovanni Battista Recurti, 1724. First edition, with three engraved folding plates, of Santorini's most important contribution to medical science, containing the "major discoveries for which Santorini is known eponymically" (Garrison-Morton). Rare. 

$6800
(details)

the fundamental equation of quantum mechanics

SCHRODINGER, Erwin. Quantisierung als Eigenwertproblem. Parts I-IV. In Annalen der Physik. Leipzig: Barth, 1926. FIRST EDITION OF ALL FOUR PARTS of Schrodinger’s most important work on quantum theory, including the first appearance of his famous wave equation: "the same central importance to quantum mechanics as Newton's laws of motion have for classical mechanics" (Britannica).

$4800
(details)

the founding document of information theory

SHANNON, Claude E. A Mathematical Theory of Communication. In The Bell System Technical Journal, Volume XXVII. N.Y., 1948. FIRST EDITION of Shannon’s extremely influential theory of communication and essential to the development of the computer. Virtually all electronic forms of communication today are indebted to Shannon’s work.

$3400
(details)

foundation of cryptography

SHANNON, Claude E. Communication theory of secrecy systems, offprint from: Bell System Technical Journal, vol. 28. NY: American Telegraph and Telephone Company, 1949. First edition, rare offprint issue in original wrappers, of Claude Shannon’s groundbreaking work on cryptography and secrecy systems; of essential importance to the development of his mathematical theory of communication.

$2900
(details)

the atomic bomb

SMYTH, H.D. A General Account of the Development of Methods of Using Atomic Energy for Military Purposes under the Auspices of the United States Government 1940-1945. Washington, D.C.: the Superintendent of Documents, 1945. Octavo, original paper wrappers. First published edition of the official government publication offering the public the first account of the development of the atomic bomb.

$600
(details)

the earliest description of television, in original wrappers

SWINTON, A.A. Campbell. Distant Electric Vision, in Nature. June 18, 1908. WITH: BIDWELL, Shelford. Telegraphic Photography and Electric Vision, in Nature, June 4, 1908. London: The Macmillan Company, 1908. Original wrappers rebacked. Very scarce first printing of what is generally considered the most important paper in the history of television. 

$4800
(details)

foundation of scientific management, PMM 403

TAYLOR, Frederick Winslow. The Principles of Scientific Management. New York and London: Harper & Brothers, 1911. Octavo, original cloth. First edition, scarce private first printing, "for confidential circulation among the members of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers with the compliments of the author" of Taylor’s masterpiece that transformed methods of factory production.

$2500
(details)

the most famous of all English botanicals

THORNTON, Robert John. Temple of Flora, or Garden of the Botanist, Poet, Painter, and Philosopher. London: published by Dr. Thornton, 1812. Small folio (15x12 inches), contemporary green morocco gilt. “Lottery Edition” of the most celebrated of all English botanicals. Complete with hand-colored aquatint frontispiece and 28 colored engraved plates finished by hand.

$32,500
(details)

 the foundation of artificial intelligence

TURING, Alan. Computing Machinery and Intelligence. In MIND, A Quarterly Review of Psychology and Philosophy, Vol. 59, No. 236, October, 1950, pp. 433-460.  New York: Thomas Nelson & Sons, Ltd., 1950. FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS of Alan Turing’s landmark explanation of what would become known as the “Turing test” to determine whether a machine can ‘think’.

$2900
(details)

 the greenhouse effect and global warming

TYNDALL, John. On the Absorption and Radiation of Heat by Gases and Vapours, and on the Physical Connexion of Radiation, Absorption and Conduction. In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. London: Taylor and Francis, 1861. Quarto, the complete journal in original wrappers; custom cloth box. FIRST EDITION of the first empirical evidence and explanation of "the greenhouse effect"; one of the most important papers in the field of climate change science.

$3800
(details)

 Cellular Pathology: first edition in English

VIRCHOW, Rudolf. Cellular Pathology as Based upon Physiological and Pathological Histology. London: John Churchill, 1860. Octavo, contemporary three-quarter calf rebacked, marbled boards. First edition in English of one of the most influential works in the history of medicine. 

$1200
(details)

 "one of the most important source books on cancer"

VIRCHOW, Rudolf. Die Krankhaften Geschwülste. Vols. I-III, [all published]. Berlin: August Hirschwald, 1863-1867. Three volumes in four. Original printed wrappers, uncut. First edition, in scarce original wrappers, of Virchow's pioneering work on tumor pathology. Generally found bound up in three volumes, it is extremely rare in the original four parts.  

$4800
(details)

 the most important biological discovery of the century

WATSON, James D.; CRICK, Francis; et al;. Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids, A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid. Offprint from Nature, vol 171, p.737ff, April 25, 1953. 14pp. St. Albans: Fisher, Knight & Co., Ltd, 1953. Original self-wrappers. Fine condition. First separate edition (offprint) of the three papers announcing the discovery of the structure of DNA, one of the most important scientific achievements of the century. Rare.

$15,500
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 the DNA molecule described, first edition, journal issue

WATSON, James D.; CRICK, Francis; et al;. Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids, A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid. London: Macmillan, 1953. Thick octavo, recent decorated cloth. Two volumes. FIRST EDITION of the announcement of the discovery of the structure of DNA, with important related papers by Wilkins, Stokes, Wilson, Franklin, and Gosling. One of the most important scientific achievements of the century.

$5000
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 "an important milestone in our understanding of the forces of nature"

WIENBERG, STEVEN. A Model of Leptons. FIRST EDITION of Steven Weinberg's model of the electroweak force, one of the essential components of the standard model of particle physics. Weinberg shared the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics for his "contribution to the theory of the unified and weak electromagnetic interaction.

$1300
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 "a new way of looking at how the world functioned"

WIENER, Norbert. Cybernetics. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1948. Octavo, original cloth, original dust jacket. FIRST AMERICAN EDITION (preceded by the Paris printing in wrappers) of one of the foundational works in modern communication theory.

$850
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 "the most original and wonderful instrument in scientific history" -Ernest Rutherford

WILSON, C.T.R. Condensation of Water Vapour in the Presence of Dust-free Air and other Gases, in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series A, pp. 265-307. London: Harrison and Sons, 1897. Quarto, original publisher's burgundy blind-stamped cloth. First edition of the first description of WIlson's famous cloud chamber, the first type of detector to show the tracks of elementary particles.

$1600
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 a monument of early 19th-century science; the Norman copy

YOUNG, Thomas. A Course of Lectures on Natural Philosophy and the Mechanical Arts. London: William Savage for Joseph Johnson, 1807. Quarto, contemporary full calf sympathetically rebacked. FIRST EDITION of the definitive collection of the work of Thomas Young, containing many original discoveries and the first full description of his famous double-slit experiment. The Signet-Haskell F. Norman copy. RARE.

$8700
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