The first six books of the elements of Euclid ….

5.11 Pickering Euclid.jpg
5.12 Pickering Euclid.jpg

Title

The first six books of the elements of Euclid ….

Coverage

London

Publisher

William Pickering

Date

1847

Description

This extraordinary edition of Euclid is the work of an obscure mathematician named Oliver Byrne, who believed that children could learn geometry more easily if the theorems and proofs were presented as shapes and colors. It is not only a landmark of Victorian color printing, but also an example of changing aesthetic values in the graphic arts. We continue to be intrigued by Byrne’s Euclid today in part because the dazzling primary colors and intricate diagrams foreshadow the abstract paintings of twentieth-century artists such as Mondrian.

Source

Purchased in 1987.