Kepler, Johannes

4to (188 x 152mm.), woodcut initials, 5 folding plates (nos 1-2 & 4-5 woodcut, no. 3 engraved), woodcut diagrams (some in margins), seventeenth-century German marbled calf, spine gilt in compartments, title-leaf slightly damaged and repaired, occasional light staining, a few small tears to plates

Caspar 6; VD16 K754; Zinner 3664

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

FIRST EDITION OF KEPLER'S FIRST SUBSTANTIAL WORK, published when he was around 25 years old. He studied at Tübingen from 1589, where Michael Maestlin was one of his teachers, until he moved to Graz in 1594. Maestlin introduced the young Kepler to Copernican ideas, and this treatise is "ESSENTIALLY THE FIRST UNABASHEDLY COPERNICAN TREATISE SINCE DE REVOLUTIONIBUS ITSELF" (DSB VII, p.291). Kepler goes beyond Copernicus in attributing a pivotal role to the Sun in keeping the planets in motion around it, even though the basic premise of the book, that each planet's orbit will fit into successive polyhedrons (illustrated in plate III), was incorrect; "seldom in history has so wrong a book been so seminal in directing the future course of science" (DSB VII, p.292). Kepler sent copies of his treatise to the major scientists of the time, including Galileo, Reymers Baer (Ursus) and Tycho Brahe; the latter was sufficiently impressed to invite Kepler to Prague in 1600. Kepler later reflected that his scientific career sprang from this single publication.

The text includes Rheticus's Narratio prima and Encomium Borussiae (1540), with a new and lengthy preface by Maestlin, who saw the work through the press on Kepler's behalf, and Maestlin's own De dimensionibus orbium et sphaerarum coelestium. It was republished, in expanded form, in 1621.

RARE. The last complete copy to appear for sale was the Honeyman copy in 1980 (sale, Sotheby's, 12 May 1980, lot 1780). The Macclesfield copy (sale, Sotheby's, 14 April 2005, lot 1135), lacked two plates.