KAESTNER. - KÄSTNER, Abraham Gotthelf. — Vollständiger Lehrbegriff der Optik nach Herrn Robert Smiths Englischen mit Aenderungen und Zusätzen ausgearbeitet.

1755 With engr. title-vignette by G. L. Crusius showing a bearded scholar with a telescope, and 22 engr. folding plates. Title, 10 unn. leaves, 531 pp., (5) pp. table of contents and errata. 4to. Contemp. plain boards (somewhat rubbed). Altenburg, Richter, 1755. First German edition of Robert Smith's (1689-1768) "A compleat system of opticks in four books", 1738. It was translated and revised by Abraham Gotthelf Kästner (1719-1800), professor of mathematics at Leipzig, later of mathematics and physics at Göttingen, teacher of Lessing and Lichtenberg, friend of Gottsched. Smith's work "became probably the most influential optical textbook of the eighteenth century. It was also published in Dutch in 1753, in German in 1755, and in two different French translations in 1767" (DSB). The work consists of two books, a general text on light, reflection, the eye, colors etc.; and a second book divided into three parts: analytical catoptrics, analytical dioptrics, and the manufacturing of optical instruments; the remaining texts are Kästner's own contributions. - Light browning throughout, otherwise a good, wide-margined copy. - Poggendorff I, 1219; DSB XII, 477 (Smith) and VII, 206 (Kästner). SCIENCE: OPTICS ;