A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism
Oxford, The Clarendon Press, 1881 (second edition, revised)/ 1873.
Octavo, two volumes, xxxii, 466; and xxiv, 458, 36 (advertisements), [8] (advertisements) pages plus a total of 21 plates.
Original cloth stamped lettered in gilt on the spine, sides bordered in blind; rebacked, retaining the backstrips; covers a little worn; outer leaves a little foxed; a few marks, trifling edge tears and other minor signs of age and handling; in good condition overall.
An important association copy, with the extensive contemporary annotations of J.J. Thomson (Sir Joseph John Thomson, 1856-1940, winner of the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physics and discoverer of the electron), and later provenance from his son, Sir George Paget Thomson (1892-1975, who continued his father's work and was himself awarded the 1937 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of electron diffraction). Annotations in the hand of J.J. Thomson appear on over 155 pages of the book, often comprising lengthy observations of several lines, equations, and diagrams, as well as shorter emphases and queries. It shows signs of at least two close readings, with some earlier ink annotations themselves annotated in pencil. We believe he used this copy while editing the third edition of Maxwell's 'Treatise' (Clarendon Press, 1892), as many of these annotations were incorporated (slightly edited) as footnotes in that edition. More importantly, in the preface to the third edition Thomson states that his initial intention was to incorporate the latest advances in electromagnetism, but soon realised that to do so would disfigure Maxwell's work. Instead, Thomson simultaneously prepared his own treatise, 'Notes on Recent Researches in Electricity and Magnetism, intended as a Sequel to Professor Clerk-Maxwell's "Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism"' (Clarendon Press, 1893). This work built upon Maxwell's classical theories of electromagnetism and made some of the crucial early steps in atomic physics that would define Thomson's career. Some of the most heavily annotated passages include the early chapters on electrostatics and conduction, both key to Thomson's own research. His experiments on the conduction of electricity in gases led to his development of the concept of 'Faraday Tubes' (a quantitative refinement of Faraday's lines of force, outlined at length in 'Notes on Recent Researches'), and subsequently to the discovery of ultra-light negatively-charged 'corpuscles', the first sub-atomic particles to be identified (now known as electrons). Some of the manuscript diagrams may be early visualisations of these concepts. Loosely inserted is a typed letter on 'New Scientist' letterhead, addressed to Sir George Thomson FRS and dated 26 August 1966, requesting that he review the 1965 Dover reprint of the 'The Scientific Papers of James Clerk Maxwell' (quarto, folded for posting). Thomson has written 'Promised for Sept. 20' at the top right-hand corner of the sheet, and has listed some of the principal facts about Maxwell's career on the verso. A fragment of another letter, on the same letterhead, dated 30 August 1966, thanks Thomson for agreeing to write the review; only the top half remains, apparently retained as a bookmark. James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) was a 'Scottish physicist best known for his formulation of electromagnetic theory. He is regarded by most modern physicists as the scientist of the 19th century who had the greatest influence on 20th-century physics, and he is ranked with Sir Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein for the fundamental nature of his contributions. In 1931, on the 100th anniversary of Maxwell's birth, Einstein described the change in the conception of reality in physics that resulted from Maxwell's work as "the most profound and the most fruitful that physics has experienced since the time of Newton"' (Encyclopaedia Britannica). 'A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism' is the most complete formulation of Maxwell's scientific work, and this second edition is rare even without this important provenance. [2 items].
Item #117776
Price (AUD):
$250,000.00