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Mathematical Treasures from the Smith and Plimpton Collections - Index

Author(s): 
Frank J. Swetz and Victor J. Katz

Selected pages from the following documents from the George Arthur Plimpton and David Eugene Smith Collections, Columbia University Libraries, are available here. Click on the name of the document to go to the illustration, where more information is provided. An index that includes not only these "mathematical treasures," but also hundreds of others from a wide array of institutions, museums, and individuals, is available in Convergence as A Collection of Mathematical Treasures - Index.

Author Title Date
     
Agnesi, Maria Gaetana Instituzioni analitiche (8 images) 1748
     
Alberti, Giuseppe Instruzione per l'Ingenero (1 image) 1774
     
Al-Khwarizmi, Muhammad Algebra (1 image) (Original dates to ~825)
     
Al-Tusi, Nasir al-Din Commentary on Euclid (1 image) (13th century original)
     
Angeli, Stephano degli Accessionis ad Stereometriam et Mecanicam (2 images) 1662
     
Anonymous Antichissimo di algorismo (2 images) 14th century
     
Anonymous Arithmetica (2 images) 1577
     
Anonymous The Art of Numbering (2 images) 1482
     
Anonymous Austrian measuring rod (1 image) 1732
     
Anonymous Austrian weights (1 image) 18th century
     
Anonymous English gauger's scale (1 image) 18th century
     
Anonymous English tally sticks (5 images) 1296
     
Anonymous Flemish commercial arithmetic (7 images) ca 1600
     
Anonymous German arithmetic (5 images) ca 1600
     
Anonymous German protractor (1 image) 1700
     
Anonymous Italian armillary sphere (1 image) 1550
     
Anonymous Italian compass (1 image) 15th century
     
Anonymous Jiuzhang suanshu (1 image) 1603 (original from c. 250 CE)
     
Anonymous Kitab al-Mutawassitat (1 image) 15th to 18th centuries
     
Anonymous Korean sangi rods (2 images) 19th century
     
Anonymous Plimpton 322 (1 image) c. 1850 BCE
     
Anonymous Student notes (3 images) 17th century
     
Anonymous Treviso Arithmetic (1 image) 1478
     
Anonymous Zhoubi suanjing (2 images) 1603 (original from 100 BCE)
     
Apianus, Petrus Instrumentum primi mobilis (2 images) 1534
     
Apianus, Petrus Introductio geographica (1 image) 1534
     
Bachet, Claude Latin translation of Arithmetic of Diophantus (3 images) 1670 (original 1621)
     
Barozzi, Francesco Procli Diadochi (2 images) 1560
     
Barrow, Isaac Geometrical Lectures (1 image) 1735 edition
     
Barrow, Isaac Archimedes, Apollonius (1 image) 1675
     
Barrow, Isaac Euclid's Elements (2 images) 1660
     
Battista, Stefano di Summa arismetice (1 image) ca 1522
     
Benedetto da Firenze Trattato d'arismetriche (3 images) ca 1460
     
Bernoulli, Jakob Ars conjectandi (1 image) 1713
     
Bettini, Mario Aerarium philosophiae mathematicae (5 images) 1648
     
Bézout, Etiénne Cours de mathématiques a l’usage de la marine et de l’artillerie (abridged, 1 image) 1815
     
Bhaskara Lilavati (2 images) 1650
     
Billingsley, Henry Euclid's Elements (2 images) 1570
     
Boeschenstein, Johann Ain neu geordnet Rechenbiechlin (3 images) 1514
     
Boethius, Anicius Manlius Arithmetic (2 images) 1294 manuscript
     
Boethius, Anicius Manlius Liber circuli (1 image) 1503
     
Bombelli, Rafael L’Algebra Opera (2 images) 1579 (original 1572)
     
Boole, George A Treatise on Differential Equations (3 images) 1865 (original 1859)
     
Borghi, Piero Libro de abacho (3 images) 1550 (original 1484)
     
Bossut, Charles Traite elementaire de geometrie (6 images) 1775
     
Boulenger, Jean La Geometrie Pratique (3 images) 1691 (original 1624)
     
Bowditch, Nathaniel Celestial Mechanics (5 images) 1818/1829
     
Brahe, Tycho Astronomiae instauratae (2 images) 1602
     
Byrne, Oliver Elements of Euclid (3 images) 1847
     
Calandri, Filippo Trattato di arithmetica (5 images) 1491
     
Cardano, Gerolamo Ars magna (1 image) 1545
     
Cardano, Gerolamo Practica arithmetice (5 images) 1539
     
Cauchy, Augustin Exercices de Mathematiques (3 images) 1826
     
Cavalieri, Bonaventura Trigonometria Plana et Sphaerica, Linearis, & Logarithmica (3 images) 1643
     
Cavalieri, Bonaventura Geometria indivisibilibus continuorum (3 images) 1653 (original 1635)
     
Clavius, Christopher S.J. Opera mathematica (2 images) 1612
     
Clavius, Christopher S.J. Epitome arithmetica practica (2 images) 1584
     
Clavius, Christopher S.J. Edition of Euclid (2 images) 1574
     
Condorcet, Nicholas de Essai sur L’Application de L’Analyse a la Probabilité and Élémens du Calcul des Probablities (2 images) 1785, 1805
     
Daboll, Nathan Schoolmaster’s Assistant (5 images) 1829 (original 1799)
     
de Ortega, Juan Suma de arithmetica: ordinate (3 images) 1515 (original 1512)
     
de Texeda, Gaspar Suma de arithmetica pratica y de todas mercaderias (3 images) 1546
     
de Witt, Jan Elements of Curves (5 images) 1683
     
Deidier, L'Abbé L’Arithmetique des Géométres (2 images) 1739
     
Desargues, Girard Universal Way of Dyaling (1 image) 1659
     
Descartes, René Discourse on Method (1 image) 1637
     
Descartes, René Geometria à Renato Des Cartes by van Schooten (3 images) 1649/1683
     
Digges, Leonard Tectonicon  (4 images) 1556/1634
     
Digges, Thomas Pantometria (3 images) 1571
     
Dürer, Albrecht Treatise on Mensuration (4 images) 1538
     
Emerson, William Treatise of Algebra (5 images) 1764
     
Euclid Elements: Late 13th-century manuscript (5 images) 1294
     
Euclid Elements: Nasir al-Din al-Tusi commentary (1 image) undated later copy (13th-century original)
     
Euclid Elements: 14th-century manuscript (3 images) 1390
     
Euclid Elements: 15th-century German manuscript (2 images) 1460
     
Euclid Elements: 16th-century manuscript (3 images) 1510
     
Euclid Elements: 16th-century Greek printed edition (3 images) 1533
     
Euclid Elements: Henry Billingsley edition (2 images) 1570
     
Euclid Elements: Christopher Clavius edition (2 images) 1574
     
Euclid Elements: Isaac Barrow ediiton (2 images) 1660
     
Euclid Elements: Oliver Byrne's edition (3 images) 1847
     
Euler, Leonhard Algebra (in French) (1 image) 1795
     
Euler, Leonhard Calculus of Variations (1 image) 1744
     
Euler, Leonhard Integral Calculus (3 images) 1768
     
Euler, Leonhard Institutiones Calculus Differentialis (2 images) 1787
     
Euler, Leonhard Introduction to Analysis of the Infinite (4 images) 1748
     
Eyre, John The Exact Surveyor (2 images) 1654
     
Faulhaber, Johann Academia algebrae (2 images) 1631
     
Feliciano, Francisco Libro di Arithmetica i Geometria (3 images) 1536
     
Fine, Oronce Geometry (1 image) 1530
     
Fine, Oronce Le sphere du monde (3 images) 1551
     
Frend, William The Principles of Algebra and Tangible Arithmetic (3 images) 1796, 1805
     
Frisius, Gemma Arithmeticae methodus facilis (3 images) 1540
     
Galilei, Galileo Siderius nuncius (2 images) 1610
     
Galilei, Galileo Geometrical Compass (2 images) 1640
     
Ghaligai, Francesco Practica d'Arithmetica (3 images) 1552
     
Heuraet, Hendrick van Rectification of Curves (3 images) 1659
     
Honoratus Opus arithmetica (2 images) c. 1560
     
Huygens, Christiaan De circuli magnitude inventa (1 image) 1654
     
Jacob, Simon Rechenbuch (7 images) 1565/1599
     
Jordanus de Nemore Arithmetica (1 image) (13th-century original)
     
Kepler, Johann Rudolphine Tables (3 images) 1627
     
Kepler, Johann Ausszag aud der Uralten messekunst Archimedes (1 image) 1616
     
Kepler, Johann Epitome of Copernican Astronomy (2 images) 1619
     
Kepler, Johann Chilias logarithmoria (1 image) 1624
     
Khayyam, Omar Algebra (1 image)

12th-century Indian manuscript

(Original dates to ca 1100)

     
Köbel, Jacob Rechenbuch (6 images) 1537 (original 1514)
     
Köbel, Jacob Geometrei (4 images) 1608
     
Lacroix, Sylvestre Calculus of Probability (2 images) 1816
     
Lagrange, Louis Analytical Mechanics (2 images) 1788
     
Laplace, Pierre-Simon Celestial Mechanics (5 images) 1799/1818/1829
     
Laplace, Pierre-Simon Théorie Analytique des Probabilités (4 images) 1812
     
Lincoln, Abraham Cyphering book (1 image) 1824
     
Maclaurin, Colin Geometria Organica (2 images) 1720
     
Maclaurin, Colin Treatise of Algebra (6th ed., 4 images) 1796 (original 1748)
     
Marolois, Samuel Three volumes: Geometria, Fortification, and Perspectiva (3 images) 1629
     
Mascheroni, Lorenzo La Geometria del Compasso (3 images) 1797
     
Maseres, Francis Doctrine of Permutations and Combinations (3 images) 1795
     
Maseres, Francis Resolution of Cubick and Biquadratic Equations (4 images) 1803
     
Mengoli, Pietro Geometriae speciosae elementa (1 image) 1659
     
Mittag-Leffler, Gösta Acta Mathematica (12 images) 1882
     
Moore, Jonas Arithmetick in Four Books (5 images) 1650/1688
     
Neudörffer, Johann Rechenbüchlein (4 images) ca 1530
     
Newton, Isaac Collected Works (5 images) 1779
     
Ozanam, Jacques La Trigonometrie Rectiligne et Spherique (2 images) 1741
     
Pacioli, Luca Divine Proportion (2 images) 1509
     
Pacioli, Luca Summa (3 images) 1494
     
Pardies, Ignace Gaston Short but Plain Elements of Geometry and Plain Trigonometry (9 images) 1701 (original 1671)
     
Peuerbach, Georg von Arithmetices elementa (1 image) 1544
     
Pitiscus, Bartholomew Trigonometry (2 images) 1600
     
Qadi Zada al-Rumi Geometry (1 image) 16th century (original 1412)
     
Ramus, Peter Arithmeticae libri duo: Geometriae septem et viginti (6 images) 1580
     
Ramus, Peter The Way to Geometry (2 images) 1636
     
Recorde, Robert Pathway to Knowledge (1 image) 1551
     
Recorde, Robert Grounde of Artes (4 images) 1543
     
Recorde, Robert Whetstone of Witte (6 images) 1557
     
Regiomontanus On Triangles (2 images) 1533
     
Reisch, Gregor Margarita philosophica (6 images) 1503
     
Riese, Adam Rechenbuch (2 images) 1550
     
Rudolff, Christoff Die Coss (10 images) 1553 (original 1525)
     
Ruffini, Paolo Riflessioni intorno alla soluzione delle equazioni algebraiche (2 images) 1813
     
Sabeus, Bernard Italian astrolabe (1 image) 1558
     
Saccheri, Girolamo Euclides ab omni naevo vindicatus (5 images) 1733
     
Sacrobosco, Johannes de Algorismus (1 image) mid-15th century
     
Sault, Richard New Treatise of Algebra (5 images) 1694
     
Scheubel, Johann De numeris (2 images) 1545
     
Schooten, Frans van Exercitationes mathematicae (7 images) 1657
     
Seki Kowa Essentials of Mathematics (2 images) 1712
     
Stevin, Simon L’Arithmetique (3 images) 1585
     
Stevin, Simon Oeuvres Mathematiques (5 images) 1634
     
Stifel, Michael Arithmetica integra (5 images) 1544
     
Tacquet, Andre Cylindrica et annularia (4 images) 1651
     
Tagliente, Girolamo Opera che insegna a fare ogni ragione de mercantia (5 images) 1525
     
Tartaglia, Niccolo Nova scientia (2 images) 1537
     
Tartaglia, Nicolo General Treatise on Number & Measure (2 images) 1556
     
van Heuraet, Hendrick Rectification of Curves (3 images) 1659
     
van Schooten, Frans Latin translation of Viéte’s works, Opera mathematica (3 images) 1641
     
van Schooten, Frans Exercitationes mathematicae (7 images) 1657
     
Varignon, Pierre Élémens de Mathématiques (7 images) 1731
     
Venturini, Antonio Libro di Conti di me (8 images) 1686
     
Viéte, François Opera mathematica (3 images) 1641
     
Vlacq, Adriaan Arithmetique Logarithmetique (3 images) 1628
     
Wallis, John

De Sectionibus Conicis and Arithmetica Infinitorum (8 images)

1655, 1656
     
Wallis, John Treatise of Algebra (4 images) 1685
     
Ward, John Compendium of Algebra (3 images) 1724
     
Widman, Johannes Behend und hüpsch Rechnung uff [auf] allen Kauffmanschafften (5 images) 1508 (original 1489)
     
Witt, Jan de Elements of Linear Curves (5 images) 1683
     
Wolff, Christian Treatise of Algebra (5 images) 1765
     
Zubler, Leonhard Nova instrumentum geometricum (5 images) 1607

These images may be used for instructional and educational purposes; for all other uses, please obtain permission from the Columbia University Libraries.

Index to the Convergence Collection of Mathematical Treasures

Frank J. Swetz and Victor J. Katz, "Mathematical Treasures from the Smith and Plimpton Collections - Index," Convergence (January 2011)

Mathematical Treasures from the Smith and Plimpton Collections at Columbia University