Evangelista Torricelli letter to Marin Marsenne, 1645

Contributor:

Mersenne, Marin, 1588-1648 (addressee); Phillipps, Thomas, Sir, 1792-1872 (former owner); Stanitz, John D. (former owner)

Name:

Torricelli, Evangelista, 1608-1647

Timespan:

Early works to 1800; 1421-1737

Date:

1645

Description:

Letter in Torricelli's cursive hand to Father Marin Mersenne, praising a lens owned by Ferdinando II, promising to send a lens he himself made, and discussing spherical geometry. Written from Florence, dated 9 January 1645, on a single paper leaf with a watermark of a bishop's miter. Tipped into a modern morocco binding with gilt title and erroneous date of 1649.

Language:

Latin

Provenance:

Formerly owned by Sir Thomas Phillipps; sold as part of the residue of the Phillipps collection first to William H. Robinson Ltd., 1945, and again to H.P. Kraus, March 1978.; Appears in H. P. Kraus's cat. 155 (1980), no. 89, and cat. 186 (1991), no. 156.; Formerly owned by John D. Stanitz (Cleveland, Ohio), Ms. 32.; Acquired by Lawrence J. Schoenberg with other Stanitz manuscripts, Sept. 1997.; Deposit by Lawrence J. Schoenberg and Barbara Brizdle, 2013.; Gift of Barbara Brizdle Schoenberg, 2021.

Relation:

The Lawrence J. Schoenberg and Barbara Brizdle Manuscript Initiative Fund Home Page: http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017.12/366278; Digital facsimile for download (OPenn): https://openn.library.upenn.edu/Data/0001/html/ljs201.html

Subject:

Geometry -- Early works to 1800; Geometry; Mathematics -- Early works to 1800; Mathematics; Optics -- Early works to 1800; Optics

Resource Type:

Text

Form/Genre:

Manuscripts, Latin; Manuscripts, European

Physical Description:

1 leaf : paper; 275 x 201 mm

Geographic Subject:

Florence (Italy) -- History -- 1421-1737

Rights:

https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/

Notes:

Mathematician and philosopher in the court of Ferdinando II, Grand Duke of Tuscany.; Lawrence J. Schoenberg & Barbara Brizdle Manuscript Initiative.; In Latin.

Physical Location:

Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Manuscripts, Oversize LJS 201

Collection:

Lawrence J. Schoenberg Collection (University of Pennsylvania)