Two defining works of geocentric astronomy

Battani, Muhammad ibn Jabir al- (Albategnius). [Kitab az-Zij as-Sabi' - Latin]. (De numeris stellarum et motibus.) De scientia stellarum liber. Cum aliquot additionibus Ioannis Regiomontani. Ex Bibliotheca Vaticana transcriptus.

€ 45.000,00

The first stand-alone edition of al-Battani's tenth-century "Kitab az-Zij" in Latin, containing the earliest extant astronomical table in the Ptolemaic tradition. The significance of this work is underscored by the early annotations to this volume in Latin and Arabic, by a scholar who knew both languages. Bound first is the work of Giovanni Antonio Magini (1555-1617), which defended the geocentric model and brought it to its highest level of sophistication and accuracy. This unique volume thus contains the full arc of the geocentric Ptolemaic model of the universe, from its medieval zenith to its final eclipse.

The annotations to the lower flyleaf contain numbers referring to latitude and longitude as well as comments on the Arabic vocabulary of the original and their Latin translations, showing use by an active and learned astronomer. Both works are illustrated with numerous elegant diagrams, charts and tables.

Al-Battani (latinised, Albategnius) built on Ptolemey's Almagest, which he refined and corrected, revolutionising the ancient Greek methods of calculations by introducing sines and tangents. The result was a text which became the standard guide to astronomy for centuries to come, particularly notable as the earliest extant work to include an astronomical table (zij).

This 1645 edition was the first stand-alone version of al-Battani's work to be printed in Europe: the first printing of 1537 in Nuremberg also included al-Farghani's Elements.The Latin translation itself dates to the twelfth century, when it was produced in the cultural crossroads of Barcelona by Plato of Tivoli.

Magini was chosen over Galileo Galilei to be Professor of Mathematics at Bologna in 1588. A staunch defender of geocentrism against the theories of Copernicus, which placed the sun at the centre of the universe, he nonetheless used his remarkable technical expertise to produce further refinements to Ptolemy which better accounted for the observable phenomena.

The provenance of this copy can be traced back to Robert Gray and Joseph Letherland, two notable physicians of the 17th and 18th centuries. After entering the Library of the Society of Writers to the Signet in Edinburgh, it was withdrawn and was latterly owned by Prof. Owen Gingrich, the noted American astronomer and Professor at Harvard.

A rare appearance on the market: Rare Book Hub records only three other copies of the 1645 Albategnius sold since 1958, and none other is bound together with the work of Magini.

Two stars of geocentric astronomy, from its zenith to its dusk.