ADAMS, George.
Verhandeling over het zien, verklaarende kortlijk den aart van het zien, en het zamenstel van het oog; ten dienste van menschen, wier oogen zwak of ongesteld zijn; stellende hen in staat om een juist denkbeeld van de waare gesteldheid van hun gezicht te maaken, geevende de behoedmiddelen daar voor op, beneevens zekere regelen, om te weeten of men eenen bril noodig hebbe, en hoe dien als dan te kiezen, zonder dat hij het gezicht benadeele. Uit het Engelsch vertaald, en met aanmerkingen verrijkt door H. Aeneae.
Amsterdam, H. Gartman, W. Vermandel, J.W. Smit, 1792. 8vo. Large folding engraved plate with 8 images concerning optics such as cross-sections of the human eye, camera obscura, spectacles etc. Contemporary stiff sprinkled wrappers. [8], 174, [2] pp.
€ 1,500
First and only edition of the Dutch translation, after the second English edition of 1792, of a detailed account of the anatomy of the eye, the use of spectacles and the improvement of vision by their use. The first edition of Adams's work had appeared in 1787 under the title An essay on vision, briefly explaining the fabric of the eye. George Adams (1750-1795), a famous London optician, served King George III as a mathematical instrument maker. He earned a worldwide reputation as a maker of spectacles and microscope lenses and wrote many elementary scientific works, which gave regular and systematic instruction in the most important branches of natural science with all its modern improvements.
The translator Henricus Aeneae (1743-1810) was a teacher of maths and physics in Amsterdam and Pieter Nieuwland was one of his pupils. He was especially interested in optics, perspective and construction of optical instruments.
Wrappers somewhat worn, especially on the spine. Otherwise in good condition and untrimmed, preserving all deckles. Bierens de Haan 10; Wellcome II, p. 13 (2nd Engl. ed.); Hirschberg, paragr. 470; DNB 1, p. 97; for the translator and editor Aeneae: NNBW I, cols. 8-9; Van der Aa, I, 32.
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