Dear Tony,
Some good news, some bad news and some good news.
Bion, M (1758) The construction and principal uses of mathematical
instruments ... translated by Edmund Stone
Reprinted 1972, Holland Press, London.
Some of us TOFs (tired old farts, as my son calls us!) still remember
how to use a slide rule. Bion shows you how to MAKE one! Fabulous
stuff in a huge book, will give you a hernia! But great to read, with
lots of plates, and really detailed instructions on (I guess) every
instrument known to and used by draftsmen and instrrument makers at
the time. Good stuff on sundials. If you find a copy, BUY it!
It regularly appears in catalogues from people like Rita Shenton.
Bergeron
I made a mistake with this,. I don't know of any English
translation of this classic. The translation that I have is actually
of Plumier.
Plumier, C (1749) L'art de tourner.
Charles Antoine Jombert, Paris
2nd French edition
English translation 1975 Paul L Ferraglio
A very early work on lathes, etc. I think that it may even pre-date
Bergeron. Certainly Holtzapffel speaks in glowing terms of Plumier.
This is a type-written version, with copies of all original plates.
Paul Ferraglio will make copies on request, and he provides them very
nicely hard bound. I forget the price. Personally, I think that he
should be persuaded by "someone" to send the ms to a publisher who
specialises in reprinting old stuff, and getting it properly
published.
The most recent address that I have for Paul is:
Paul L Ferraglio
3332 W Lake Road
Cananbaigua
NY 14424
USA
Phone (716) 394 7663
A SUGGESTION: One of our US members phone Paul and see (a) if the
address etc. are correct, (b) if he is still alive, (c) if the book
is still available, (d) can we negotiate a "bulk" discount for a
number of simultaneous orders. I imagine that there must be several
people on the list who would like copies (and it is FANTASTIC!!!) for
themselves or institution libraries.
Bye from Sydney, on a gloomy, rainy day.
John
PS: if winning the olympics (I refuse to grace it with an uppercase
"o") is first prize, why couldn't we have come second???
Ah, but our bid wasn't corrupt! If you believe that, then have I got
an offer for you! Wanna buy a slightly used Opera House? I can give
you a good price on a package of the Opera House AND the Harbour
Bridge. You can trust me.
Dr John Pickard
Senior Lecturer, Environmental Planning
Graduate School of the Environment
Macquarie University, NSW 2109 Australia
Phone + 61 2 9850 7981 (work)
+ 61 2 9482 8647 (home)
Fax + 61 2 9850 7972 (work)
