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Byrne, Oliver

The first six books of the Elements of Euclid : in which coloured diagrams and symbols are used instead of letters for the greater ease of learners

1847

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The first six books of the Elements of Euclid : in which coloured diagrams and symbols are used instead of letters for the greater ease of learners /, London : William Pickering, 1847, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection.




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  • Title(s)

    The first six books of the Elements of Euclid : in which coloured diagrams and symbols are used instead of letters for the greater ease of learners / by Oliver Byrne surveyor of Her Majesty's settlements in the Falkland Islands and author of numerous mathematical works.

  • Additional Title(s)

    Byrne's Euclid

  • Published/Created

    London : William Pickering, 1847.
    Chiswick : Printed by C. Whittingham, [1847]

  • Physical Description

    xxix, [1], 268 p. : col. ill. ; 25 cm.

  • Holdings

    Rare Books and Manuscripts
    QA451 .B99
    Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
    Accessible in the Study Room [Request]

  • Copyright Status

    Copyright Not Evaluated

  • Classification

    Books

  • Notes

    Half title: Byrne's Euclid : the first six books of Euclid with coloured diagrams and symbols.
    Criblé initials designed by Mary Byfield.
    Printer from colophon.
    Dedicated to the Earl Fitzwilliam.
    Collation: 4to?: [A]² b² c-d⁴ e² f1, B-2L⁴ 2M² [$1 signed]; 149 leaves, pp. [i-vii] viii-xxix [xxx (blank)], [1] 2-70 [71] 72-144 [145] 146-210 [211] 212-268.
    Friedman, J. Color printing in England, 1486-1870, 43
    McLean, R. Victorian book design and colour printing, p. 70
    McLean, R. Book is not a book, p. 10-14
    Tufte, E. Envisioning information, p. 84-87
    Selected exhibitions: "Color Printing in England, 1486-1870" (Yale Center for British Art, 20 April-25 June, 1978).
    "Corrigenda": p. xxix.
    BAC: British Art Center copy bound in contemporary brown cloth, with title stamped in gilt on spine.
    "Byrne ... considered that it might be easier to learn geometry if colors were substituted for the letters usually used to designate the angles and lines of geometric figures. Instead of referring to, say, 'angle ABC,' Byrne's text substituted a blue or yellow or red section equivalent to similarly colored sections in the theorem's main diagram."--Friedman.
    "Each proposition is set in Caslon italic, with a four line initial engraved on wood by Mary Byfield: the rest of the page is a unique riot of red, yellow and blue: on same pages letters and numbers only are printed in colour, sprinkled over the page like tiny wild flowers, demanding the most meticulous register: elsewhere, solid squares, triangles, and circles are printed in gaudy and theatrical colours, attaining a verve not seen again on book pages till the days of Dufy, Matisse and Derain."--McLean, Victorian book design and colour printing.
  • Subject Terms

    Euclid's Elements. |
    Euclid. Elements. |
    Geometry -- Study and teaching. |
    Geometry.

  • Form/Genre

    Color printing (Printing). | Diagrams -- Color. | Wood engravings -- 1847.

  • Contributors

    Byfield, Mary, 1794 or 1795–1871. tyd | Euclid. Elements. Book 1–6. English. | Fitzwilliam, Charles William Wentworth Fitzwilliam, Earl, 1786–1857, dedicatee. | Pickering, William, 1796–1854, publisher. | Whittingham, Charles, 1795–1876, printer.

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Color Printing in England, 1486-1870 (Yale Center for British Art, April 20, 1978-June 25, 1978) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

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