Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth
Edinburgh, 'printed for Cadell and Davies, London and William Creech, Edinburgh', 1802.
Octavo, xx, 528 pages.
Relatively recent antique-style half calf and marbled papered boards; old marbling to the edges; leather very slightly rubbed and a little sunned on the spine; leather turnover has stained the corners of the endpapers, binder's blanks and first and last few leaves; short tear to the top right-hand corner of the title leaf repaired on the verso with a small piece of tape; small light tidemark to the outer bottom corner of most of the first 40 leaves, the inner margin (into the text) and top margin of the last 50 leaves, and the outer margin of the last 30 leaves (in all places, this is essentially inoffensive); scattered pale foxing and the occasional light mark or stain; trifling signs of age and use; overall, a very good copy.
John Playfair (1748-1819), mathematician and geologist. 'Following the death in 1797 of his friend James Hutton, Playfair proceeded to make a careful analysis, clarification, and amplification of Hutton's "Theory of the Earth" [1785 and 1795, the essence of which is the concept of the geological cycle] ... The publication of the "Illustrations" is indeed one of the most conspicuous landmarks in the progress of British geology. It ended the early period in the history of that science' ('Dictionary of Scientific Biography', Volume 11). Provenance: C.R. Twidale, with his signature (Adelaide, 1977) on the front free endpaper. Dr Rowl Twidale has been associated with the University of Adelaide since 1958: his publications include 18 books (with another 11 co-edited), and more than 400 essays and papers in refereed monographs and journals. His research interests are eclectic, but he is 'known for work on structural geomorphology, particularly the development of granite forms; on desert landscapes; on weathering processes, especially the effects of groundwaters; on palaeosurfaces and models of landscape evolution, particularly the antiquity of landscapes in shield lands; on problems related to the dating of land surfaces; and increasingly the history of geomorphological ideas' (University of Adelaide Researcher Profiles).
Item #82599
Price (AUD):
$4,800.00