Petit,P. Lot n° 22

The importance of the comets and the stars, besides a missive... Of the nature of comets... Drsdn. and Zittau, J.C. Mieth 1681. Front. by J. Mausfeldt. 38 nn. Bl. unbound. VD17 14:073191Q. Bircher 14440. cf. Poggendorff II, 414 f. Jöcher III, 1427. Brüning 1467. - The mathematician Pierre Petit (1598-1667), supervisor of the French fortresses and ports, was a close friend of Descartes. The writing was written to reassure Louis XIV, as striking celestial phenomena were usually related to crowned heads and comets were considered a bad omen. - First German edition of the "Dissertation sur la nature des cometes" from 1665 (Brüning). "His Dissertation ... was praised in England and on the Continent for the accuracy and completeness of its observations and discussions" (DSB X, 546). - The front. shows scholars observing the heavens. - Title with small round cutout (without text loss). Tanned.