The Theory of Sound

2 vol. 8vo. [5], vi-xiv, [1], 2-480; [5], viii-xvi, 1-504 pp. Brown publisher's cloth with a border in blind on each board, gilt lettering and gilt rules and gilt publisher's device on each spine. A few in-text diagrams. Second edition, revised and enlarged. MacTutor, "John William Strutt (Lord Rayleigh)". Strutt began this work while on a trip to Egypt in 1872. The first volume was published in 1877, the second first published in 1878. The Baron generated a copious body of scientific research during his lifetime: he wrote the first correct explanation for why the sky is blue. This set is a masterpiece of nineteenth-century physics: it explores questions related to vibrations, waves, and the resonance of different kinds of matter. Light rubbing to the cloth, a name in ink on each free front endpaper, very very light pencil marginalia.