105 - CASSINI (Jacques).

CASSINI (Jacques). Elements of Astronomy. Paris, Imprimerie Royale, 1740. In-4, xvi-[12]-643 brown calfskin, decorated ribbed spine, title page (contemporary binding). A few wormholes. Folios G2 and G3 have narrower top margins. First edition, illustrated with 21 fold-out plates and divided into 9 parts: On the fixed stars, the Sun, the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Mercury; the last part covers the theory of satellites, along with notable observations regarding the appearances of these satellites. According to the author, this is the first treatise on astronomy in French (Preface). Also included, in the same binding (traces of a library label at the tail): Astronomical Tables of the Sun, the Moon, the Planets, the Fixed Stars, and the Moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Paris, Imprimerie Royale, 1740. xiv, [6], 120 pp. of explanatory text adorned with a beautiful header vignette and a beautiful initial letter, both engraved in intaglio; 222 pp. of tables; 5 figures engraved on fold-out plates bound at the end; and [1] f. of errata. A fine collection of these two important astronomical texts by Cassini, in first editions, bound together in a pleasant, uniform contemporary binding. Jacques Cassini (1677–1756) succeeded his father, Jean-Dominique Cassini, as head of the Observatory and as a member of the Academy in 1712. Admitted to the Royal Society in 1696 and to the Berlin Academy, he became friends with Newton and Halley. A staunch Cartesian, he took a stand against the theory that the Earth was flat. In 1740, he gradually withdrew from his scientific work and allowed his son César-François to carry on the family legacy. He entrusted him with the management of the Observatory and the creation of a map of France. Modern coat-of-arms ex-libris: Maraldiana dei Manuel-Gismondi. Slightly worn edges and corners.