Ephemerides of the celestial motions for six years; beginning anno 1702, and ending anno 1707. Diligently calculated from scientia stellarum, and accommodated to the horizon of the honourable city of London, Whose Longitude Latitude is 240 20' 51 32 With an Introduction touching the Theory of the Sun and Planets: As also a Demonstration of the Height of our Atmosphere; and likewise Tables of Right and Oblique Ascensions in time, for the more exact and speedy Calculating of the Rising, Southing, and Setting of the Planets and Fixed Stars. By John Wing, mathemat.

WING, John (c. 1662-1728).

Edité par London : printed by T. Hodgkin, and sold by John Taylor at the Ship in St. Paul's Church-Yard, 1702. Only edition., 1702

A propos de cet article

Quarto. Pagination [10], 282, p. Stub of cancelled leaf after A1, B-Z4, Aa-Nn4, Oo1. [ESTC, N9242]. ESTC calls for 12 preliminary leaves. However, our collation conforms to the copy at William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, University of California at Los Angeles, reproduced on ECCO. Contemporary sheep, rubbed and worn. Rebacked, but that is now splitting, lacks endpapers. Provenance: 19th-century armorial of Stonor to front paste-down. From the library of Owen Gingerich (1930-2023), professor of astronomy, historian, author, and bibliophile. Rare: ESTC locates two copies, both in the USA (Naval Observatory and William Andrews Clark libraries). No copies in the UK. John Wing (c. 1662-1728) continued the family project begun by his uncle, farmer-turned-astronomer Vincent Wing (1619-1668), of promoting the theories of Copernicus. Though he began as a surveyor and mathematician (publishing in 1693 a textbook, Heptarchia mathematica), in 1680 John, like his forebear, began to publish almanacs to popularise the new astronomy, adding short essays on topics such as gravity, tides, and comets. This rare copy of the only edition of John Wing's Ephemerides of the celestial motions contains tables for six years of celestial activity, preceded by an account of "the Theory of the Sun and Planets" making explicit the Wing mission to introduce the Copernican system to a wider public. John frequently foregrounded the basis of his observations as lying in Vincent's theories and methodology, here he describes his tables as "Diligently calculated from scientia stellarum" his own work (which was added to the 1700 edition Vincent Wing's Geodætes practicus redivivus. The art of surveying), and the subject of a lengthy quarrel with his rival almanac maker, George Parker, over its supposed inaccuracies. The "Wing Dynasty", beginning with Vincent, bred generations of "astronomers, astrologers, instrument makers and land surveyors" (ODNB); John Wing was one of the most industrious of these descendants, and this very rare volume is an example of his advocacy of Copernicus via the almanac form, in the context of a thriving and highly sometimes bitterly competitive marketplace.

N° de réf. du vendeur 8383

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Ephemerides of the celestial motions for six years; beginning anno 1702, and ending anno 1707. Diligently calculated from scientia stellarum, and accommodated to the horizon of the honourable city of London, Whose Longitude Latitude is 240 20' 51 32 With an Introduction touching the Theory of the Sun and Planets: As also a Demonstration of the Height of our Atmosphere; and likewise Tables of Right and Oblique Ascensions in time, for the more exact and speedy Calculating of the Rising, Southing,...
• Éditeur: London : printed by T. Hodgkin, and sold by John Taylor at the Ship in St. Paul's Church-Yard, 1702. Only edition.
• Date de parution: 1702
• Langue: anglais
• État de l'article: Assez bon