Beschreibung:

BRAHE, Tycho (1546-1601). Astronomiae instauratae mechanica . Wandsbeck: for the author by Philip von Ohrs, 1598. Super-royal 4° (343 x 245mm). Collation: )( 4 A 6 B-F 4 G-H 6. 42 leaves. Roman, Greek and italic types. Title printed in red and black. 22 (4 engraved, 18 woodcut) illustrations of Brahe's instruments, 9 woodcut plans and diagrams FINELY ILLUMINATED AND COLOURED BY A CONTEMPORARY HAND, wide type-ornament border and allegorical woodcut with sphere and compass on title, narrow type-ornament border to all pages, allegorical woodcut on final verso, head- and tailpieces, ornamental initials, all woodcuts hand-coloured in green, other ornaments hand-coloured in red, purple, green, yellow and blue. (Third line of title partly renewed in manuscript, some light finger-soiling, a few tears neatly repaired, tiny hole in A4, occasional light stains.) 17th-century calf-backed flexible mottled paper boards (restored), gilt spine, gilt edges, modern slipcase preserving old paper sides. Provenance : 17th-century inscriptions and early stamp deleted from title and second leaves; Giorgio Francesco Egregio di (?)Sobotca (inscription dated 1652); P. Bergmann (title inscription); Antonius Strnadt (royal astronomer, gift inscription by Bergmann dated 3 July 1785); 'Astronomus David 1801'. FIRST EDITION AND AN UNRECORDED COPY of Brahe's important work describing his astronomical instruments and his observatory at Hven. Brahe took up residence on the island of Hven in the Danish Sound in 1576 at the invitation of King Frederick II. There he constructed a residence and observatory, Uraniborg (heavenly castle), a smaller observatory, Stjerneborg (castle of the stars), a windmill, a papermill and workshops; in 1584 a printing press was also installed. The instruments he built at Hven (to complement his travelling instruments) were among the most advanced of the time, greatly benefitting from large-scale construction which space on Hven allowed. In a letter to Caspar Peucer in 1588 Brahe reported that he was planning to write a detailed report on his instruments, numbering 'at least 24'. It was not until 1598, having left Hven the previous year, that Brahe realised his project to publish a description of his instruments. He temporarily installed himself in the castle at Wandsbeck of his friend and patron, Landgraf Heinrich Rantzov, to write and oversee the printing of the Mechanica . He brought the accomplished Hamburg printer Philip von Ohrs to the castle to print the work on thick paper, possibly produced at Brahe's papermill on Hven. It was printed for private distribution only, possibly in an edition as small as 60. Hasselberg located only 33 copies at the beginning of this century; L. Nielsen increased the number of copies to 42 (including 4 destroyed by war and one now thought to be the 1602 edition); and most recently Norlind has added a further 5 coies, plus approximately 9 known from contemporary correspondence to have been sent by Brahe to European luminaries. To this list may be added a copy presented to Pietro Duodo (Sotheby's, 27 June 1985, lot 10) and the present copy. The survival rate of copies appears to be quite high, due in no small part to the high status of the recipients, the provenance of the copy ensuring its survival. Of the copies recorded from all sources, at least 39 are known as presentation copies, most usually bearing autograph dedication inscriptions. Among the known recipients were Rudolph II, Archduke Matthias, Wolfgang Theodor, Archbishop of Salzburg, Prince Maurice of Orange, Scaliger, and Kepler. Virtually all copies were hand-coloured before presentation (the Kiel and NYPL copies are exceptional as uncoloured), although the colouring delayed sending copies, as Brahe complained about having to wait for coloured copies to return from the illuminator (letter to Kepler 1599, see Norlind p.292). A number of copies retain their special presentation binding, stamped with a portrait of the author. An engrave