WHEWELL, WILLIAM - A PIONEER-WORK ON TIDES WITH THE FIRST COTIDAL WORLD-MAP.

Essay towards a First Approximation to a Map of Cotidal Lines. Read May 2, 1833.

(London, Richard Taylor, 1833). 4to. No wrappers as extracted from "Philosophical Transactions" 1833 - Part I. Pp. 147-236, a few textillustr.,1 engraved plate and 2 large folded engraved maps (a general, representing the greater part of the world (42x93 cm) and Chart of the British Isles, drawn and engraved by J.& C. Walker.). A small tear to world map. Clean and fine.

First appearance of this classic, pioneering paper on the investigation of tidal phenomena. It is the first in a series of 16 papers Whewell made for the Royal Society. It contains the first printed cotidal world-map.

"Whewell took over the subject of mapping cotidal lines from Lubbock with entusiasm....He exercised the pioneer's privilege of coining new words and phrases appropriate to his subject. Many failed to stick, some phrases of Whewell's origin still occasionally used are: 'age of the tides', 'luni-tidal interval', 'semi-menstrual inequality' etc, etc....Whewell's initial cotidal map for the world ocean was presented in his first paper of 1833 (the paper offered). By his own admission, it was entirely preliminary and tentative, what nowadays might be called a "strawman", to stimulate discussionm. He later (1836) suggested smll modifications, especially near the coast of North America; these were incorporated in an 'improved' world map by G.B. Airy in his celebrated tratise on "Tides and wave", (Cartwright in "Tides. A Scientific History", pp.110-112.)

Order-nr.: 42692