Mathematical Treasure: Levinus Hulsius’s Tractat der Mechanischen Instrumenten

German instrument maker and publisher Levinus Hulsius (1550–1606) is mainly known to mathematicians for a three-volume set on the construction of mathematical instruments, although some of his maps, geographical works, mathematical textbooks, and dictionaries also survive. He printed the three volumes of Tractat der Mechanischen Instrumenten in German himself in 1603–1604; in 1605 he published Latin versions with the Frankfurt firm of Wolfgang Richter. Volume 1 claimed to introduce the planimeter and also discussed the use of the quadrant, square, and other surveying instruments with sights. It was a full treatise of 122 pages, while the other volumes were 16-page bound pamphlets. Volume 2 covered instruments employed in aiming artillery and may be viewed in Mathematical Treasures. The title page and two plates below are found in volume 3, which described the proportional compass invented by Jost Bürgi (1552–1632) in 1583.

The images above are provided courtesy of Bamberg State Library. A full digitization of this book is available here. The 1605 Latin versions of all three volumes may be viewed via HathiTrust or La Biblioteca Europea di Informazione e Cultura.

Index to Mathematical Treasures