Description
A very rare first and unique edition
of this important work of astronomy.
No copy has been recorded on the market since the beginning
of the surveys, more than 35 years ago.
Only 2 copies in international public institutions:
Staatsbibliothek Zu Berlin and Ukat Union catalog of Polish Library.
Dyblinski, Alberto. Centuria Astronomica. In alma Academia & Universitate Vilnensi Societatis Jesu.
Vilnius, Academicis Societatis Jesu, 1639.
12mo [146 x 96 mm] of (8) ll., 182 pp., (1) p. of errata.
Ivory vellum, handwritten title on spine. Contemporary binding.
Very rare first and unique edition of this important work of astronomy “certainly one of the best of the 17th century”. (The Astronomical Observatory of Vilnius University).
Decorated with numerous engravings.
In this important book entirely dedicated to astronomy, Alberto Dyblinski positively sides with the theories of Nicolas Copernic and declares, after studying telescopic observations, that Mercury and Venus revolve around the sun.
“The book of A. Dyblinski Centuria Astronomica published in 1639 was exclusively devoted to astronomy. It was a comprehensive, though popular, review of astronomy based on works of the most eminent astronomers of that time. It might have been one of the best books on astronomy in the 17th century” (The Astronomical Observatory of Vilnius University).
Albert Dyblinski became the assistant of famous astronomer Oswald Kruger (1598-1665), a remarkable mathematician and creator of ingenious scientific instruments.
“At the end of the 15th century, Vilnius developed into a notable political and cultural center of Eastern Europe.
Many famous artists and scholars resided in Lithuania at the time. The well-known Polish astronomer and mathematician Wojciech Brudzewski (1445-1497), a professor of the Cracow University and a teacher of Nicolas Copernicus, sent the last years of his life in Vilnius. In 1579, the Vilnius University was founded. This gave a great impetus to the development of science, including astronomy.
The book of Albert Dyblinski “Centuria Astronomica” published in 1639 was exclusively devoted to astronomy. In this book, Dyblinski used many treatises and works of eminent astronomers of the time: Galileo Galilei, Tycho Brahe, Joanes Sacrobosco, Christopher Scheiner, Nicolas Copernicus. It might have been one of the best books with a thorough and popular layout of astronomical knowledge of that time” (J. Sudzius)
A copy preserved in its contemporary vellum.
No copy has been recorded on the market since the beginning of the surveys, more than 35 years ago.
Only 2 copies in international public institutions: Staatsbibliothek Zu Berlin and Ukat Union catalog of Polish Library.