[Leeuwenhoek, Antoine van.] “Vervolg der brieven, geschreven aan de wytvermaarde Koninglijke societeit in London” a review in French of an installment of the published letters to the Royal Society (in Dutch, at Amsterdam, by Boutesteyn in 1688) of Antoine van Leeuwenhoek. This review, or abstract, describes 9 published letters (4 April 1687, 9 May, 13 June (which I think is incorrectly described as “3 June” in the Bibliotheque), 11 July, 6 August, 9 September, 17 October, 28 November, and 7 September 1688 overall). The Vervolg of 1688 continues with another five letters. There is one engraved plate in the Bibliotheque with two figures—this corresponds to the plate on page 19, the two figures here being figures 6+7 in the very well illustrated book.
These articles bound in: Jean Le Clerc and Jean Cornande de al Crose, Bibliotheque Universelle et Historique de l'annee M.D.C. LXXXVIII, Amsterdam; Wolfgang, Waesberge, Boom, & van Someren. 1688. 5.5”x3”, Volume 9. (first edition), (vi), 561, (28)pp, with two small folding plates.
Bound in full vellum. Condition: a very nice copy, with a very fresh text block. There is a centuries-old paper label on the spine bottom (“Ephem.gen. 96”), as well as a title in ink in a very old hand at spine top. Engraved bookplate “Friedr. August H.z.B.O”.., with what seems to be a royal coat of arms, and seems to be Friedrich August, Braunschweig-Lüneburg-Oels, Herzog, otherwise Frederick Augustus, Prince of Brunswick-Oels.
VERY GOOD condition. There is some damage and a bit of a torn out right-corner on the front free flyleaf, otherwise a nice, tight copy. Pretty book. $500
“Leeuwenhoek made his most important discovery early in his scientific career, in 1674, when he recognized the true nature of microorganisms...conclud(ing) that the moving objects that he saw through his microscope were little animals. He recorded these observations in his diary, and two years later, in a letter of 9 October 1676, communicated them to the Royal Society, where they caused a sensation...Leeuwenhoek subsequently described, in about thirty letters to the Royal Society, many specific forms of microorganisms, including bacteria, protozoa, and rotifers, as his incidental discovery of ciliate reproduction.”
“It was through letters—more than 300 of them, written to private scientists and amateurs in both Holland and other countries—that Leeuwenhoek made his work known... he was indebted to the Royal Society of London for the publication of his views, and 190 of his letters are addressed to that body.”
“This initial communication [28 April 1673] convinced the fellows of the great significance of his microscopic findings, and the Society prepared English translations or summaries of his letters for their Philosophical Transactions (1673—1724)...Beginning in 1679, the French journal Recueil d’expériences et observation sur le combat qui procéde du mége des corps published Leeuwenhoek’s letters, translating them from the Philosophical Transactions, and French summaries of them...appeared in the Journal des Scavans, Latin extracts were made and published in the Acta eruditorum,beginning in 1682.”--Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography, online, section on Leeuwenhoek.
“Leeuwenhoek himself did not publish his work until 1684, when he brought out some of his letters in Dutch; from 1684 onward he also published Latin translations. He initially edited, reprinted, and reissued some of his letters separately or in groups of two or three, a practice that has resulted in some bibliographical confusion.”
On the Bibliotheque: “Like its great rival, Pierre Bayle’s Nouvelles de la re´publique des lettres, it [the Bibliotheque...] was a source of information and means of communication for members of the nascent Republic of Letters. It was also one of the remote ancestors of the modern academic journal, though much less specialised than most of its successors.”J.R. Milton, “Locke's Publications in the Bibliothèque Universelle et Historique”, British Journal for the History of Philosophy, 05/2011, Volume 19, Issue 3
Editors and contributors included: Jean Le Clerc et Jean Cornande de al Crose, vols 1-9; Jean Le Clerc, 10, 12, 14-19; Jean Cornand de La Crose, vol 11; Charles le Cene and Jean Le Clerc, vol 13; Jacques Bernard and Jean Le Clerc, vol 20; Jacques Bernard, vols 24-5. The journal was published every 4 months in vols 1-3; every 3 in 4-19, and then twice a year for 20-25.
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