Théorie de la figure de la Terre, Tirée des Principes de l'Hydrostatique by CLAIRAUT, Alexis Claude - 1743

Paris: chez David fils, 1743. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 8vo (188 x 113 mm). xl, 305, [5] pp., engraved title vignette, woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces, numerous woodcut text diagrams. Contemporary French mottled calf, spine with 5 raised bands gilt-tooled in compartments, gilt lettering piece, red sprinkled edges (wear to extremities, worming at spine ends, boards scratched, corners slightly scuffed). Quite crisp and clean throughout internally with only very minor spotting in places, title page a bit browned and soiled, ink stain to p. iii, long clean tear to leaf H4 without loss, final page spotted and with small abraded patch affecting a few letters, two oversized formula on p. 289 slightly shaved at fore-margin. Single page with annotations in light pencil. Provenance: from a French private collection. Very good copy, collated and complete. ----

FIRST EDITION of this important geophysical treatise in which the author lays the foundations of modern hydrostatics and states his famous theorem which enabled him to confirm Newton's theory of the flattening of the Earth at the poles. Alexis-Claude Clairaut (1713-1765) studied mathematics under his father Jean-Baptiste and entered the Académie des Sciences at the age of 18. In 1736-1737, he was part of Maupertuis' geodesic expedition to Lapland. Bibliography: Lalande, p. 419; Zeitlinger-Sotheran, 799. - Visit our website to see more images!