Mathematics Text Owned by Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) is For Sale in Honor of Women's History Month

2024-04-24 07:26:18 Art & Entertainment

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New York City, NY, USA, March 11, 2021 ? The Manhattan Rare Book Company is celebrating Women?s History Month by offering for sale a historically significant first edition copy of a mathematical text from the personal library of Ada Lovelace (1815-1852), the renowned British scientist and mathematician (and daughter of the equally renowned poet, Lord Byron). The price is $135,000.

The book, titled An Elementary Treatise on the Differential and Integral Calculus, was originally published in French, in 1802, having been written by French mathematician Silvestre Fran?ois Lacroix (1765-1843). It was translated into English in 1816, by Charles Babbage and two other students at Cambridge University. The book is Lovelace?s copy from that first English edition.

The volume is also Lovelace?s personal annotated copy, with at least 35 ink annotations in her hand, plus nearly 20 pencil annotations in the hand of her tutor, the mathematician Augustus De Morgan (British, 1806-1871). Lovelace?s initials (?A.A.L.?) are shown in gilt on the spine, and the blind stamps of East Horsley Towers (the Lovelace estate) appear on the endpaper and title.

An Elementary Treatise on the Differential and Integral Calculus was the key text driving the advance of English science and logic during the first half of the 19th century. Lacroix was the leading advocate for algebraic analysis in Europe, and his 1802 text epitomized the advanced state of Continental mathematics ? a state the Analytical Society sought to promote in England.

The book?s impact in England was substantial. It was a common factor interlinking many of the major players in English science of the period, and it proved to be critical to the intellectual development of Ada Lovelace, whose early education was focused on mathematics. Her mother wasn?t too keen on young Ada following in the wayward poetic ways of her father, Lord Byron.

However, being the daughter of a famous poet allowed Lovelace to move in the upper circles of English society, where she became intimately connected with the intellectual echelon that was driving the transformation of English mathematics and science. It is believed she acquired and read the book between 1840-1843, the most intellectually intense, productive period of her life.

Today, Ada Lovelace is widely recognized as one of the leading female scientists of the 19th century and specifically celebrated for publishing the first algorithm and being one of the first people to envision a general-purpose mechanical computer that could perform tasks beyond mere calculation. As such, she is often regarded as one of the world?s first computer programmers.

The ink annotations are particularly intriguing. They suggest a close reading of the text with an eye to correcting errors. In Charles Babbage?s autobiography, he writes that Lovelace ?detected a grave mistake which I had made in the [algorithmic] process? and that ?this keen eye for mathematical detail? was similarly evidenced in Lovelace?s correspondence with De Morgan.

In addition to An Elementary Treatise on the Differential and Integral Calculus, Manhattan Rare Books also has ten other scientific/mathematical volumes for sale from Ada Lovelace?s library.

To learn more, please visit www.manhattanrarebooks.com.