Arithmetical Books from the Invention of Printing to the Present Time

The mathematician Augustus De Morgan (1806–71) published this 1847 work with the intention of supplying a more accurate bibliography than had hitherto existed. Limiting himself to books which he himself had examined, he compiled a chronological catalogue from 1491 to 1846, drawing on books from public and private collections.

---

In the preface to this work, mathematician Augustus De Morgan (1806–71) claims that 'The most worthless book of a bygone day is a record worthy of preservation.' His purpose in writing this catalogue, published in 1847, was to provide an accurate record of the early history of publishing on arithmetic, but describing only those books which he had examined himself. He surveyed the library of the Royal Society, works in the British Museum, the wares of specialist booksellers, and the private collections of himself and his friends to compile a chronological list of books from 1491 to 1846 (the final book being a work of his own), giving bibliographical details, a description of the contents, and sometimes comments on the mathematics on display. De Morgan's Formal Logic and a Memoir of Augustus De Morgan by his widow are also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection.