Sphaericorum libri tres, nunquam antehac graece excusi. Paris, André Wechel, 1558. Small 4to (21 x 14 cm). With woodcut publisher's Pegasus device on title-page (repeated on last page), numerous woodcut mathematical diagrams in text, woodcut headpieces and decorated initials. 18th-century tanned sheepskin, gold-tooled spine and board edges.

[8], 54, [2], 70, [2] pp.First bilingual edition of the oldest treatise on spherical geometry, providing the first edition of the original Greek and the first Latin edition to be translated directly from the Greek. It was composed by the Greek mathematician and astronomer Theodosius, perhaps around the year 100 BCE, and edited by Jean Péna (1528?-1558?), mathematician at the Collège Royale. The Greek text and very extensive notes, also in Greek, occupy the first half of the book, while the Latin translation of both text and notes (and repeating the woodcut diagrams) occupies the second half. The first two Latin editions (Venice 1518 and Vienna 1529) were translated from Arabic translations of the Greek, so the present book was a watershed in the development of Greek scholarship. Since spherical geometry was essential to the development of astronomy, it also set the stage for the Renaissance revolution set in motion by Copernicus, Gallileo and others. On top of that it was a monument to the golden age of French typography. With the owner’s inscription of the magistrate and engineer Thomas de Scorbiac (1614-1690). In very good condition. Although binding shows some surface damage, cracks in the hinges and restorations, it remains structurally sound.. In very good condition. Although binding shows some surface damage, cracks in the hinges and restorations, it remains structurally sound.l Adams T-548; Houzeau-Lancaster 846; USTC 152561; DSB XIII, pp. 319-320.