The First Book on Electricity
GILBERT, William. De magnete, magneticisque corporibus, et de magno magnete tellure; physiologia noua, plurimis & argumentis, & experimentis demonstrata. London: Peter Short. 1600.
Small folio. Late seventeenth-century mottled calf, boards double-filleted in gilt, spine gilt in compartments with central lozenge tool and lettered directly in gilt, edges sprinkled red; pp. [xvi], 240; occasional gothic letter, woodcut printer’s device (McKerrow 119) to title, large woodcut arms of Gilbert to title verso, woodcut folding plate after p. 200, 88 woodcut illustrations and diagrams in text (4 full-page), woodcut initials, head-, and tailpieces; spine and extremities very skilfully repaired, hinges reinforced, very light wear to boards, three minute wormholes to front board; uniform light toning, subtle repair to title (touching one letter), small paperflaw to R1, unobtrusive repairs to blank margin and short closed tear of folding plate, a few minor spots, otherwise a very clean, crisp copy; early ownership inscription to title, contemporary reading note to p. 166, 2 pp. contemporary underlining, and 4 pp. contemporary manuscript corrections (see below).
First edition, an attractive copy, of the foundational work in both magnetism and electricity, and ‘the first major English scientific treatise based on experimental methods of research’ (PMM), a significant influence on the likes of Kepler, Bacon, Boyle, Newton, and in particular Galileo, who used Gilbert’s theories ‘to suggest his own proof of the findings of Copernicus in cosmology’ (ibid.).
Colchester-born natural philosopher William Gilbert (c. 1544–1603) graduated BA, MA, and MD from St John’s College, Cambridge before leaving for London, later serving as royal physician to both Elizabeth I and James I. Gilbert’s scientific endeavours were primarily concerned with magnetism – he is the first to use the term ‘magnetic pole’ – but it was his exploration of amber’s attractive effects which led him to coin the terms ‘electricity’, ‘electric force’, and ‘electric attraction’. His versorium (a freely rotating needle, see illustration to p. 49) was the first instrument devised to study electrical phenomena, functioning as both electroscope and electrometer.
Divided into six books, De magnete combines historical review, theoretical innovation, and experimental demonstration. Book I surveys the history of magnetism and culminates in Gilbert’s central postulate: that Earth is itself a giant magnet. Books II–V explore magnetic actions such as coition (mutual attraction), orientation, variation, and declination. Gilbert distinguishes magnetic from electric phenomena, formally establishing electricity as a separate field. He introduces the category of ‘electrics’ (substances like amber that attract light objects when rubbed) and provides detailed instructions for the construction and use of testing instruments. Gilbert’s experiments with the terrella (a spherical lodestone used to model Earth, see p. 192) enabled him to demonstrate and explain phenomena such as the compass needle’s orientation, the magnetic dip described earlier by Robert Norman, and variations caused by local irregularities in Earth’s magnetic field. His practical suggestions for improving navigation included constructing instruments and compiling charts of compass variation.
In Book VI, Gilbert turns to cosmology, arguing, drawing on medieval ideas from Peter Peregrinus’ Letter on the Magnet (1269), that the Earth’s diurnal rotation is a magnetic phenomenon. After Peregrinus, ‘De magnete provided the only fully developed theory … and the first comprehensive discussion of magnetism’ (DSB). Throughout De magnete, Gilbert challenges older authorities, favouring firsthand observation and repeatable experiments. His systematic approach, framing new theories, testing them experimentally, and documenting procedures, prefigures the scientific method that would come to define seventeenth-century natural philosophy.
The work is also notable for ‘the first comprehensive and satisfactory explanation of the behaviour of the nautical magnetic compass. The correct recording and use of compass bearings made possible the ‘age of exploration’, and its concomitants of trade, naval capability, colonial imperialism, and missionary work [...] Francis Bacon, Gilbert’s contemporary both as courtier and as reformer of natural philosophy, made the compass, with printing and gunpowder, one of the three technologies that defined a modern age of progress beyond classical achievements’, likely derived from his acquaintances with English navigation experts and mariners (ODNB).
Provenance: The corrections on pages 11, 22, 63, 72 – which are also found in some other copies – are traditionally attributed to Gilbert’s own hand, or to the printer’s workshop under Gilbert’s instruction.
ESTC S121112; Dibner, Heralds 54; Grolier/Horblit 41; PMM 107; Wellcome I 2830.
SKU: 2122168