Rivard - Traité de la Sphère - 1743

Le Traité de la sphère de Nicolas Rivard proposes a clear and structured dive into the basics of astronomy and celestial geometry. Behind a scholarly title, the work primarily seeks to render understandable the organization of the sky: motions of the stars, reference points in space, and principles that allow reading the world above our heads.

Rivard develops a pedagogical, almost guided approach, which accompanies the reader step by step. It is not only a matter of stating rules, but of providing the tools to understand how astronomers observe, measure, and interpret celestial phenomena. The text combines scientific rigor with a concern for clarity, which makes it an accessible gateway to knowledge long reserved for specialists.

The treatise appeals by its balance between precision and readability: it turns an abstract subject into a set of concrete and orderly ideas, and testifies to that era when science sought to diffuse more widely. It is at once a work of learning and a reflection of the XVIIIth century intellectual curiosity.

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RIVARD - Treatise on the Sphere. Followed by the Treatise on the Calendar.

Paris, 1743. Second edition.

Complete, 1 volume in-8 [144pp.;85pp.] Illustrated with 3 folding plates.

Binding full green vellum in good condition. Spine with raised bands, title piece. Gilding well preserved. Small scattered stains. Paper somewhat foxed.

Fine copy in a decorative binding, not common.