BABBAGE, CHARLES. - THE DIFFERENCE MACHINE OF SCHEUTZ, MATHEMATICALLY DESCRIBED.

Note sur la machine suédoise de MM. Schutz (!) pour calculer les Tables mathématiques par la méthode des différences, et en imprimer les résultats sur des planches stéréotypes.

(Paris, Mallet-Bachelier), 1855. 4to. No wrappers. In: "Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de L'Academie des Sciences", Tome 41, No 15. Pp. (537-) 563. (Entire issue offered). Babbage's paper: pp. 557-560. Some faint, mostly marginal brownspots.

First printing of this importent paper being babbage's report on the Scheutz differnce calculator, explaining its functions by way of his own notations.

"Babbage's report on the differnce engine built by the Swedish printer Georg Scheuts (1785-1873) and his son Edvard (1821-81), based on Babbage's own designs.... In 1854 the Scheutzes took their engine no. 2 to England in the hopes of marketing it. There they were introduced to Babbage, who received them with great friendliness and showed a lively interest in their work. Babbage devoted two whole days to investigating Scheutz' engine for which he had much praise, especially for the way they had succeeded in building it with the funds at their disposals.... As part of his effort to promote the Scheutz Engine, Babbage gave a talk on it before the Academie des Sciences, illustrated with drawings by his son henry, in which Babbage's system of mechanical notation was used to describe the machines construction and functions. This talk was published (the paper offered) without illustrations in the Academie 'Comptes rendus'. ((Hook & Norman "Origins of Cyberspace", No. 73).

Order-nr.: 48992