MELVILLE, John Voluntary Exercises in Algebra 1865-6
Small 8vo., red roan-backed marbled boards, with paper label lettered in ink to upper board; all edges red; pp.120, hand numbered; manuscript throughout, with mathematical equations and proverbs, as well as silhouette cut-outs, lithographic scraps, and even seaweed specimens pasted in; rubbed all over, with a couple of very minor splits to the leather along spine; internally very neat, with some water splashes leading to the ink bleeding in one or two places, a couple of loose sections of seaweed chipped away; a charming survival.
This mid-Victorian notebook contains several methematical and algebraic problems, including simple equations. Interspersed between them are various musings and verses, including 'Chile and Scotland Compared', 'To A Robin', and 'A Fall of Water'. There are also 40 embellishments, which include pasted figures, silhouettes, and real pieces of seaweed, and at the foot of many pages he has added short proverbs: (badgers are fond o’creels - It’s ill getting the breeks off a Highlandman - a club fat will no make a gude shinty - friends are like fiddle strings, they wauna be screw’d over tight.) These indicate a Scottish compiler.
A unique little exercise book.
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