Bibliotheca Opticoria 1475-1925

Bibliotheca Opticoria describes 774 books that made and marked the history of optics - all from the collection of the author. Over a span of nearly 500 years, the books describe the development of the theory, practice, and application of optics. Topics include: The nature of vision and ocular optics, The nature of light and physical optics, Formation of images and geometrical optics, Optical craft and materials, Light as measurement tool, Mathematization of optics, and How optics was taught and learned. The introduction gives a recounting of the author’s collecting experiences and outlines a history of optics in both topical and chronological forms. Each of the 774 entries, after the typographic information, contains: an essay ‘Of the Book’, which sets out what is known of the background, development, writing, authorial intention, editing, publication, and reception of the book, including its antecedent and subsequent influences; and an essay ‘In the Book’, which describes and analyzes the book’s content, summarizing the material, the manner of its presentation, and its technical level. References cite modern scholarship directly or indirectly related to the book, its origin, and its influence. There are three indices: Authors, listing works and editions, Printers and Publishers, Provenance of personal names and institutions, and noting inscriptions, bookplates, and marginalia.