Nicholas Bernoulli (1 results)

Second, revised edition of the pioneering study of games of chance, among the first comprehensive studies of probability theory. This edition is the first to publish seven extensive letters from Nicholas and Johann Bernoulli on probability, covering 69 pages in total. Pierre Rémont de Montmort (1678-1719) devoted his life to resolving the problems of probability raised by Huygens and Pascal and made pressing by Louis XIV's love of gambling. An Anglophile, he visited England several times (where he gained Newton's friendship), and the Essay has been interpreted as blending an English emphasis on state-orientated statistics with the French interest in algorithmic analysis. Shortly after the publication of the first edition in 1709, Montmort began an extended correspondence with Johann and Nicholas Bernoulli (1687-1759). The correspondence, itself a series of friendly games, typically consists of Montmort illustrating the solution to a problem without disclosing a proof, which is then supplied by Bernoulli along with a generalization. The Essay itself is cited as a key influence on both Nicholas Bernoulli (in particular his decision to publish his uncle's Ars Conjectandi in 1713), and on De Moivre's series of works on probability. Aside from including the Bernoulli correspondence, the second edition greatly expands Montmort's analysis of combinatorics and adds many general proofs to his earlier work. Brunet III, 1870; Tomash & Williams M121 (first edition). Quarto (250 x 185 mm), pp. xlii, 414, [2]. Engraved monogram to title page, 6 folding plates, 6 engraved headpieces, 2 engraved diagrams, wood-engraved tailpieces, extensive tables and formulae in the text. Contemporary red morocco, spine ruled and decorated in gilt and with brown morocco label, covers with triple-fillet panel and cornerpieces in gilt, marbled endpapers, edges gilt, green silk bookmarker. Light rubbing, minor foxing, slight browning to several gatherings: a very good copy in a handsome contemporary binding.