FOUNDING THE GENRE "RECREATIONAL MATHEMATICS"

OZANAM, JACQUES.

Recreations mathematiques et physiques, qui contiennent plusieurs problemes d'aritmetique, de geometrie, de musique, d'optique, de gnomonique, de cosmographie, de mecanique, de pyrotechnie, et de physique. Nouvelle edition. 4 vols.

Paris, Charles Antoine Jombert, 1750 (Vol. 2: 1749).

8vo. Uniformly bound in four nice contemporary full spinkled calf binding with five raised bands and richly gilt spines. Small paper-label pasted on to top of spines. Edges of boards gilt. All edges coloured in red. Light wear to extemities, primarily affecting spine-ends. A nice and clean set. (16), 460, (20) pp. + 32 plates.; (4), 462, (14) pp. + 49 plates; (2), 482, (12) pp. + 31 plates.; (8), 446, (6) pp. + 17 plates. (A total of 129 plates out of 136)

Beautiful later edition the first work of its kind; "Recreational Mathematics".

Qzanam's "contributions consisted of popular treatises and reference works on "useful and practical mathematics," and an extremely popular work on mathematical recreations; the latter had by far the more lasting impact. Ozanam’s Récréations may be regarded as the forerunner of modern books on mathematical recreations. He drew heavily on the works of Bachet de Méziriac, Mydorge, Leurechon, and Daniel Schwenter; his own contributions were somewhat less significant, for he was not a particularly creative mathematician. The work was later augmented and revised by Montucla and, still later, was translated into English by Hutton (1803)."(DSB).

Order-nr.: 60995