Az arithmetica eleje. (az elö-szóban írt módon). B. B. F. Mathesist és Physicát tanító p. által.
M.vásárhelyt [Marosvásárhely]: Nyomtattatott a’ Reform. Kollégyom betüivel Felsö Visti Káli Jó’sef ltal. 1830. First edition. In somewhat later half leather binding. The panels are covered with marbled paper. Spine with gilt title. XVI, [XVII–XX], [1]–162 p., and one folding plate. Collection stamp, old ownership inscription and notes on the title page and the verso of the front panel in ink. Ink stain on title page. Light foxing overall. Rubbed at joints, bumped at corners. Inner front endpaper missing. Overall in very good condition.
First edition of Farkas Bolyai's first mathematical publication. This work is on the foundations of arithmetic, algebra, and analysis. It also includes a discussion of Euclid's parallel postulate, set theory, combinatorial analysis, calculus of variations, the convergence of series. Bolyai wrote to Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855) in 1831 that even though he expressed his concepts clearly, his work was considered mathematically incomprehensible by his colleagues, and only his students and his son, János Bolyai (1802–1860) understood and appreciated it. Farkas Bolyai was a close friend of Gauss who regarded him as the only man who fully understood Gauss' metaphysics of mathematics. Bolyai submitted his work to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1835 along with his signature work, Tentamen.
With ownership inscription by the Hungarian mathematician, Emil Gerevich (1854–1902) who was among the earliest researchers of continuous fractions.
.
Price: €13,500.00