A System of Natural Philosophy, being a Course of Lectures in Mechanics, Optics, Hydrostatics, and Astronomy; which are read in St Johns College Cambridge.

FIRST EDITION. 2 vols. 4to. (23.5 x 18 cm). pp.[xx]+1105+[6]. Continuous pagination. Full contemporary calf, sides ruled with double gilt fillet, spines with raised bands and gilt rules, red morocco labels with gilt lettering, edges dyed red. 31 engraved folding plates and one folding map of the world showing California as an island. Bindings secure but superficially rubbed, some light tonging and occasional faint spotting, marginal browning to bottom corner of first 6 leaves, some annotations in ink and pencil, including one instance of a past reader blacking out 4 lines of text on p.241, partial loss to plate 14, with a very good handsome set. 'A System of Natural Philosophy' is a prominent two-volume scientific work published in 1748 by the English divine and physicist Thomas Rutherforth (often spelled Rutherford in older indices). The book is a comprehensive compilation of lectures he delivered while serving as a fellow and professor at St John's College, Cambridge. During the 18th century, "natural philosophy" was the standard term used to describe the study of nature and the physical universe before the modern word "science" became widely adopted. Rutherforth's work was highly indicative of the post-Newtonian era at Cambridge University. He integrated mathematical and experimental explanations to demystify physical phenomena, heavily drawing upon the broader framework of the scientific revolution. Because printing presses allowed wider distribution during this era, the book became a highly accessible textbook for undergraduate students and independent 18th-century scholars.…