Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727).

Isaac Newton's Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica. The third edition with variant readings. Assembled and edited by Alexandre Koyré and I. Bernard Cohen with the assistance of Anne Whitman. Cambridge: University Press, 1972.

Presentation copy of the definitive scholarly edition of Newton's masterpiece from Jane to Stephen Hawking. Described as ‘the greatest work in the history of science’ (PMM). The 1726 edition was the last published in the author's lifetime, with his revisions, thereby establishing the definitive text for all subsequent editions. The third edition contains a new preface by Newton, numerous alterations, most notably in the scholium on fluxions, and a new section on the motion of the lunar nodes.

This edition comprises a facsimile of the text of the third edition, comparing it against variants in the preceding editions, together with the annotations, alterations and corrections from Newton’s own copies of the first and second editions.

2 volumes, quarto (280 x 205mm). Publisher’s dark green cloth, dark red gilt lettering labels to spines (2 minor scrapes to upper board of vol. I), dustjackets (both jackets price clipped, 60mm scrape to upper cover of vol. I. with 30mm associated tear with slight loss affecting one letter, lower spine corner of upper cover of vol. II with tiny tear without loss). Provenance: Jane Hawking (b. 1944; presentation inscription ‘with love’ in ballpoint pen on both front free endpapers, to:) – Stephen Hawking (1942-2018) – the estate of Professor Stephen Hawking.

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