Emerson, W. [William]. A System of Astronomy. Containing the Investigation and Demonstration of the Elements of that Science. London, Printed for J. Nourse, 1769. 20 x 12 cm. x, ii, 368 pages. With 15 out of 16 Plates, lacking Plate XII. Contemporary quarter calf over paper covered boards. Black spine label. Very good condition. Binding seriously rubbed and bumped. Some small losses to corners. Edges and end papers dust dulled. Small amount of worm damage. Some annotations. Name of previous owner on front paste down. Internally clean.

William Emerson (1701 – 1782) was an English mathematician. He was born in Hurworth, near Darlington, where his father, Dudley Emerson, also a mathematician, taught a school.
William himself had a small estate in Weardale called Castle Gate situated not far from Eastgate where he would repair to work throughout the summer on projects as disparate as stonemasonry and watchmaking. Unsuccessful as a teacher, he devoted himself entirely to studious retirement. Possessed of remarkable energy and forthrightness of speech, Emerson published many works which are singularly free from errata.
In The Principles of Mechanics (1754) he shows a wind-powered vehicle in which the vertically mounted propeller gives direct power to the front wheels via a system of cogs. In mechanics he never advanced a proposition which he had not previously tested in practice, nor published an invention without first proving its effects by a model. He was skilled in the science of music, the theory of sounds, and the ancient and modern scales; but he never attained any excellence as a performer. He died on 20 May 1782 at his native village, where his gravestone bears epitaphs in Latin and Hebrew.

• Keywords: Astronomy · Mathematics · Reference · Science & Nature · Social Sciences
• Language: English
• First edition
• Inventory Number: 104431AB

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