A copy of Isaac Newton’s fundamental thesis “Optics”, which he bought nearly 20 years ago, has surfaced. from the author’s personal library. For decades it was considered lost. The book will be available for £375,000 at the San Francisco Rare Books Fair from February 3-5, 2023.

what is known

Isaac Newton is one of the greatest and most famous scientists in history. Among his many interests were optics and the nature of light. He did dozens of experiments, wrote many works, faced criticism, but in the end he proved right in his theories. All of his ideas eventually formed the basis of Newton’s last treatise, Optics, published in 1704. The work was an important contribution to the science of optics, standing on a par with Johann Kepler’s Astronomiae Pars Optica and Huygens’ Traité de la Lumière. Unlike Newton’s previous work, it was written in English, making it much more readable for audiences.

• Newton died without a will in 1727, and his books, along with his other properties, were sold to a man named John Huggins, warden of the Naval Penitentiary.
• Huggins bought them as gifts for his son Charles, who was rector in Oxfordshire, and the books were later sold to Charles Huggins’ successor as rector, Dr. Passed on to James Musgrave.
• The books were later passed on to his son, Sir James Musgrave, and remained in the family for generations until most of the Newton libraries were sold in 1920.

When DiLaura purchased this copy over 20 years ago from a British rare book dealer in West Sussex, neither the buyer nor the seller had any idea of ​​its history. DiLaura described his find as “a once-in-a-lifetime event for a collector,” and it certainly is. Collectors and rare booksellers love a good rediscovery story.
– says Pom Harrington, owner of Peter Harrington Rare Books, which sells the book.

A copy of “Optics” purchased 20 years ago turned out to be from Newton’s personal library / Photo: Peter Harrington

When DiLaura lit up James Musgrave’s book label and found a second book tag by Charles Huggins underneath, she realized that her Optical copy might be more important than she first thought. The existence of both book plates is generally accepted as proof that a particular book was part of Newton’s library. But DiLaura sought further confirmation, so she consulted with Newton researchers at Cambridge, and the researchers concluded that it was a lost second edition of Newton’s 1717 book Optics.