159 - Cureau de la Chambre, Marin. *Nouvelles observations et coniectures sur l'iris*. Paris, d’Allin, 1662. A rare second edition of this important scientific work

Cureau de la Chambre, Marin. *Nouvelles observations et coniectures sur l'iris*. Paris, d’Allin, 1662. A rare second edition of this important scientific work Cureau de la Chambre, Marin. *Nouvelles observations et coniectures sur l'iris*. Paris, d’Allin, 1662. Quarto (236 x 170 mm); [8], 340, [6] pages. 24 copper-engraved plates in the text (slightly browned). Contemporary binding in sponged calfskin, 4-rib spine, sprinkled edges (some missing material and imperfections). The work also addresses the musical nature of the colors produced by the refraction of light, with particular attention to those of the rainbow, and is significant for the development of Fermat’s optical theories and Newton’s experiments, which culminated in *Opticks* (1704). Following Aristotle, La Chambre linked the chromatic spectrum to musical theory, hypothesizing that colors were contained within white light and arranging them across two octaves according to musical intervals, in an attempt to formulate a universal theory of color and harmony. Rare second edition of this important scientific work