KEPLER, Johannes || BARTSCH, Jakob. Tabulae Manuales Logarithmicae ad Calculum Astronomicum, in specie Tabb. Rudolphinarum compendiose tractandum mire utiles. 1700.

Second and first obtainable edition.

In 1627, Kepler published his final work, the Tabulae Rudolphinae, an ephemeris of planetary motions of unprecedented accuracy. This feat was only possible thanks to the use of logarithmic tables, which allowed him to shorten the immense calculations necessary for the precision of these predictions.

The use of logarithmic calculation is thus at the heart of Kepler’s astronomical work. He discovered Napier’s work in 1617, but he preferred to construct his own tables using a new geometric approach. More accurate than those of his predecessor, Kepler’s tables were published in Mathematici chilias logarithmorum in 1624.

For the Tabulae Rudolphinae, Kepler modified his logarithmic tables by changing the intervals of tabulation..

After Kepler's death in 1630, his son-in-law Jacob Bartsch wanted to propose a portable and less expensive version of the logarithmic tables used for the calculations of the Tabulae, which had been published in folio format. Bartsch had them published in 16mo format, under the title Logarithmorum logisticorum (Sagan, 1631).

Our edition was given by the French mathematician Jean Caspar Eisenschmidt, who corresponded with Cassini in Strasbourg. In his introduction, Eisenschmidt explains that the print run of the original edition had been extremely limited due to financial problems. The rarity of copies of the Sagan edition, even at the time, necessitated a new edition.

A very fresh copy.