CEULEN, Ludolf van.
De arithmetische en geometrische fondamenten.
Leiden, Joost van Colster and Jacob Marcus (colophon: printed by Ulderick Cornelisz. Honthorst and Joris Abramsz.), 1615. Folio. With engraved portrait of Van Ceulen on the title-page, and numerous woodcut geometrical figures in the text. Contemporary vellum, remains of ties. [4], 271, [1 blank] pp.
€ 6,500
First edition of an important mathematical treatise by Ludolf van Ceulen (1539-1610), a widely-travelled fencing master and mathematical instructor. Van Ceulen devoted much of his time to the computing of pi. In the present work, "he reached thirty-three decimal places, always enclosing pi between an upper and a lower limit" (DSB). Occasional browning, some contemporary annotations, repaired tear on title-page and a a roughy erased library stamp damaging the paper (pp. 99-100). Good copy. Bierens de Haan 839; Poggendorff I, col. 414; Simoni C-85; DSB III, p. 181.
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