Mathematical Treasure: Waring's Properties of Algebraic Curves

Edward Waring (1736–1798) was an English mathematician remembered for his work in number theory and analysis. He wrote several works of a philosophical/mathematical nature. His Proprietates algebraicarum curvarum (1772) is an in-depth study of the properties of algebraic curves.

In the preface of his work, Waring supplies a brief history of the study of curves. The first few pages of the preface are given here:

The opening pages of the book begin with a list of specific problems:

Detailed drawings in support of the discussion of the above problems are provided at the end of the text:

The full work can be viewed courtesy of the University of Bordeaux, Library of Science and Technology, through BabordNum.

Index to Mathematical Treasures