Saxonian Archimedes

Gärtner, Andreas. Langwirige Lampen, oder Sonderbare [...] Erfindung, Lampen auf eine leichte Arth also zuzurichten, dass sie geraume Zeit [...] fortbrennen. [...]. Nebst angehängter Nachricht von denen Antiquen [...], vorgestellet von J. G. G. Hübschen.

Leipzig & Frankfurt, 1725.

(6), 110 pp. With engr. frontispiece (M. Rein sc.). Modern marbled boards. 8vo.

 2.500,00

First edition in book form (parts had been published in 1720 in the periodical "Berlinische und Cölnische ordinaire Post-Zeitung"): descriptions of lamps capable of burning for prolonged periods without having to be refueled, invented by the Saxonian court mechanic Andreas Gärtner (1654-1727). Gärtner, a cabinet maker and mechanic, had learned his trade over twelve years travelling throughout Germany and Italy (Venice, Bologna, and Rome). By 1686 he was royal cabinet maker to the Dresden court, and later also royal mechanic. Delighting in complicated machanical models and devices, he soon became known as the "Saxon Archimedes". Unfortunately, most of his works perished in a fire at the Wackerbarth Palace in 1728. Gärtner's famous world clock (c. 1700), boasting 365 dials, has survived and still draws crowds at the Dresden Zwinger. The frontispiece shows some of his newly-invented lamps.

Rare; KVK locates 4 copies in Germany (Erlangen, Augsburg, and Munich); OCLC locates no copies in the U.S.; not in COPAC.

Insignificant browning. A very good, clean copy.

Literatur

Thieme/Becker XIII, 37ff.

Art.-Nr.: BN#44841 Schlagwort: