Mathematical tracts Vol. I. Containing his new principles of gunnery, with several subsequent discourses on the same subject, the greatest part never before printed. Vol. II. Containing his discourse on the methods of fluxions, and of prime and ultimate ratios, with other miscellaneous pieces

ROBINS, BENJAMIN (1707-51). Mathematical tracts Vol. I. Containing his new principles of gunnery, with several subsequent discourses on the same subject, the greatest part never before printed. Vol. II. Containing his discourse on the methods of fluxions, and of prime and ultimate ratios, with other miscellaneous pieces London: J. Nourse, 1761. FIRST EDITION. Two volumes. 8 vo. Contemp. speckled calf. xlvi, (2, contents), 341, (3, pub. ads); (2), 380 pp. Three engraved plates, one folding + text woodcuts. Vol. I joints cracked and one corner bumped, vol. II joint partially cracked; a good to very good set, internally very good. With his 'New principles of gunnery', 1742, Robins became the real founder of the science of gunnery. Therein Robins introduced the ballistic pendulum which he employed to determine the muzzle velocity of bullets. That advance, and others, caused Euler to issue his German translation in 1745. Robins' second volume contains an important work on fluxions which first appeared in 1735. Commenting on the original edition, the Newton/Babson Catalogue has: "In this little book, Robins was the first to give an exceedingly clear explanation of Newton's theories of fluxions." The polemics on the vis viva controversy and other published and unpublished articles complete the set. Biblio. mechanica, pp. 279-280. F. Cajori, 'Hist. concepts, limits and fluxions in Gr. Brit.', 1919, chap. 4 & pp. 202-206.…