Bound Collection Offprints, Signed (2 results)

A testament to the vibrancy and internationalism of Republican-era Chinese science, specially bound for presentation and inscribed by Ch'in on the front free endpaper, "To Dr Leo Alexander, my teacher in neuropathology. K. Y. Ch'in." In 1933, Alexander lectured at the Rockefeller-backed Peking Union Medical College, the symbol of modern China's scientific revolution, where Ch'in was a faculty member. Ch'in (1902-1969, also known as Qin Guangyu) enrolled as an undergraduate at the college in 1920 and completed his doctorate a decade later. Over the next ten years, as a professor in the department of pathology, he published research into histopathology in squirrels, liver degeneration, dermatopathology, and tumors. After 1949, when the co-operation of the 1930s had given way to suspicion, he was a person of interest to the CIA, appearing in confidential CIA reports on the state of the medical profession under Mao. Time in China afforded Alexander (1905-1985) the chance to explore new approaches to neuropathology and psychiatry, all the while living the exciting life of an expatriate in Beijing. "He saw himself at the cutting-edge of Western medical research, albeit in a foreign culture. He was an explorer of the human brain, ready to discover new and uncharted territory. Alexander's early correspondence to colleagues in Europe is filled with enthusiasm, a man pleased with his own achievements. In the course of his work Alexander encountered neurological symptoms that were entirely new to him" (Schmidt, p. 39). Experience in China was a springboard to the defining achievement of his career: advising Telford Taylor, the lead prosecutor for the "Doctors' Trial" at Nuremberg, and helping devise the Nuremberg Code of medical ethics. Ulf Schmidt, Justice at Nuremberg: Leo Alexander and the Nazi Doctors' Trial, 2004. 23 works bound as 1, quarto (270 x 180 mm). Plates, illustrations and tables in text; typescript half-title and table of contents. Contemporary red cloth, original wrappers, stamped with blue ink numbers, bound in. Cloth lightly rubbed, a little toning internally, otherwise fine.

The mathematician's personal collection of his own offprints, which he had specially bound, comprising 82 sole-authored and 76 co-authored papers, together with 19 offprints written by others and relevant to his work; alongside seven volumes (bound in four) of the collected Cambridge Mathematical Tracts which he edited, and three books from his library. Godfrey Harold Hardy (1877-1947) was the most influential British mathematician of his time, whose writings over four decades did much to shape and invigorate the discipline. "Hardy described himself as a problem solver rather than a theory builder, but he had a profound influence on modern mathematics and ranks as one of the greatest English mathematicians of the twentieth century. Together with Littlewood, he brought pure mathematics in England to the highest level, and was instrumental in improving the teaching of mathematics throughout the world" (ODNB). He was also instrumental in mentoring and bringing to world attention the Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920). The present collection represents Hardy's writings from 1901 to 1946, the full run of his career. They were bound by the local bookbinders John P. Gray and Sons Ltd in Cambridge. Each of these bound offprint volumes has a manuscript contents page at front. Each of the Cambridge Mathematical Tract volumes - a series he edited for a time - has his ownership signature, as does one of the three books from his library (the other two being a further mathematical work, and a translation of the Vicar of Wakefield into Urdu, perhaps linked to his close friendship with Ramanujan). The collection, with its many co-authored offprints, is also a testament to one of Hardy's most important academic relationships: with J. E. Littlewood. Littlewood co-authored 56 of the papers. "This collaboration between two equally outstanding scientists was probably the greatest ever between two mathematicians. The contribution of Hardy and Littlewood to analysis was enormous. It extended over a vast range including Diophantine approximation, additive number theory, Waring's problem, the Riemann zeta function, prime number theory, inequalities, and Fourier series. In many cases their results are the best known to date, and work is still being done on many of their problems" (DSB, Littlewood). The collection also showcases Hardy's collaboration with George Pólya, Thomas John I'Anson Bromwich, Horatio Scott Carslaw, and Nachman Aronszajn. A full inventory is available on request. Together, 16 vols. Collection of offprints: 9 vols comprising 177 offprints, in pink cloth with black label lettered in gilt "Pamphlets" with Hardy's and others' names, the bindings by John P. Gray and Sons Ltd of Cambridge, each with a manuscript contents leaf at front of each vol., the offprints often bound with their original printed or plain wrappers. Cambridge Mathematical Tracts series: 4 vols (comprising 7 works), green quarter sheep, spines lettered in gilt, green paper sides. Works from Hardy's Library (see note): 3 vols - half calf and orange sides (Urdu Vicar of Wakefield), brown half cloth and marbled sides (Bachman), blue cloth (Carleman). Expertly restored at extremities and with bindings tightened and cleaned. A very good set.