A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism

MAXWELL, James Clerk (1831–1879). A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism . Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1873. First edition, first issue of Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism, advancing “the significant hypothesis that light and electricity are the same in their ultimate nature” (Grolier/Horblit). Maxwell saw electricity not as just another branch of physics but “as an aid to the interpretation of nature” and saw the study of electromagnetism “as a means of promoting the progress of science” (Preface, p. vii). This theory, one of the most important discoveries of 19th-century physics, was Maxwell's greatest achievement, and laid the groundwork for Einstein's theory of relativity. Grolier/Horblit 72; Norman 1466; PMM 355; Wheeler Gift 1872. The provenance from Owens College Library, Manchester, is especially resonant, placing Maxwell's masterpiece in a pioneering Victorian scientific institution in the city where he conducted some of his most important research. Two volumes, octavo (210 × 138mm). Series titles, vol. 1 half-title, 21 lithographic plates, first-issue vol. 1 errata slip (vol. 1 preliminaries rehinged, few stains on title-pages, lightly soiled). Contemporary maroon library cloth by Henry Richards of Manchester, gilt titling and shelfmark on spines (rubbed, vol. 1 lower joint cracked, vol. 2 upper joint starting, endleaves spotted).

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