"On the Theoretical Principles of the Machinery for Calculating Tables. In a letter from Charles Babbage. Esq. F.R.S. Lond. & Edin. To Dr. Brewster".

BABBAGE, Charles.

Published by Edinburgh, printed for Archibald Constable and Co., 1823

About this Item

BABBAGE, Charles. "On the Theoretical Principles of the Machinery for Calculating Tables. In a letter from Charles Babbage. Esq. F.R.S. Lond. & Edin. To Dr. Brewster". In the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, October 1, 1822 to April 1, 1823, volume VIII. Edinburgh, printed for Archibald Constable and Co. 1823. The Babbage occupies pp 122-128 in the volume of iv,iv,428pp, with 7 plates (one folding). Newly rebound in half-calf and marbled boards, with gilt decorated raised bands, new (heavy) endpapers a lovely job by the binder. The text is clean and fresh, and the binding is new. FINE copy. [+] "As a founding member of the Royal Astronomical Society, Babbage had seen a clear need to design and build a mechanical device that could automate long, tedious astronomical calculations. He began by writing a letter in 1822 to Sir Humphry Davy, president of the Royal Society, about the possibility of automating the construction of mathematical tables specifically, logarithm tables for use in navigation. He then wrote a paper, On the Theoretical Principles of the Machinery for Calculating Tables, which he read to the society later that year. (It won the Royal Society s first Gold Medal in 1823.) Tables then in use often contained errors, which could be a life-and-death matter for sailors at sea, and Babbage argued that, by automating the production of the tables, he could assure their accuracy. Having gained support in the society for his Difference Engine, as he called it, Babbage next turned to the British government to fund development, obtaining one of the world s first government grants for research and technological development."--Encyclopedia Britannica entry for CB.

Seller Inventory # ABE-1614280894009

Bibliographic Details

• Title: "On the Theoretical Principles of the Machinery for Calculating Tables. In a letter from Charles Babbage. Esq. F.R.S. Lond. & Edin. To Dr. Brewster".
• Publisher: Edinburgh, printed for Archibald Constable and Co.
• Publication Date: 1823
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Engineering
  • Computing History
  • Technology