Simon Jacob von Coburg, 1565

JACOB von COBURG, Simon (1510-1564). Ein New and wohlgerundt Rechenbuch, auff den Linien un[d] Ziffern. Frankfurt: Simon Georg Raben for Sigmundt Feyerabend and Simon Huter, 1565

First edition of an important arithmetic manual. The author, Simon Jacob, was a noted German math teacher and author. His brother Pancras inherited his books and instruments upon his death, and released this edited volume of his work with an introductory obituary. The text is more advanced than your average mercantile mathematics text, and according to Smith may have influenced Joost Bürgi's work on logarithms. "'This arithmetic book is less commercially oriented than are early Jacob works. Although the title implies that the book will deal both with the table abacus (auff den Linien) and algorism (un Ziffern), the table abacus is only briefly mentioned, with no illustrations, before the work turns to the elementary operations and then to more advanced topics such as arithmetic progressions, areas, volumes, etc. The title page shows a number of figures using quadrants, Jacob's staffs, etc" (Tomash). Smith Rara pp 295–8; Tomash and Williams J4.

Quarto (201 x 162mm). Title printed in red and black with woodcut vignette of astronomers, woodcut printer's device at end, woodcut diagrams in text (dampstaining, browning). Contemporary German yapped vellum, title in manuscript on cover, lacking ties.