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[blank leaf],[xiv], 101 pp. (unsigned title-page, followed by a-c2, A-Z2, Aa-Bb2, unsigned final leaf). Copper-engraved title-page vignette; 5 copper-engraved pictorial headpieces; 4 tailpieces; 4 engraved initials; 2 double-page tables; diagrams in the text. (4to) 23.2x18.6 cm. (approximately 9¼x7¼"), modern calf-backed boards, red leather spine label lettered in gilt. First Edition.

Rare first edition of Newton's early works on calculus, published to demonstrate his claim to priority in the invention of the calculus. This is the rarest of Newton's major mathematical works, apparently printed in a small edition intended only for private distribution. Newton is today acknowledged as first to develop calculus, but during the 18th century controversy raged between the claims of Newton and Liebniz - the latter was the first to publish on the subject, though evidence suggests Newton came upon the idea first, and there were suggestions of plagiarism directed at both parties. The present volume includes Newton's first written statement on Calculus (from around 1669), his works on the quadrature of curves and the method of interpolation, together with pertinent excerpts from letters to Oldenburg and Wallis. Also included is the first account of the binomial theorem. Wallis 293; Babson 207; Grolier/Horblit 66b