The Elements of Euclid

The First Six Books of The Elements of Euclid in which Coloured Diagrams and Symbols Are Used Instead of Letters for the Greater Ease of Learners, by Oliver Byrne. Taschen, [2010].

Boxed edition, containing cloth-bound hardback facsimile of the famous first edition of 1847 and separate soft cover essay by Werner Oechslin. Multilingual edition in English, French and German. Book and commentary both measure 24 x 19.5 cm, whille the box measures 25.5 x 20.8 cm.

Very good, approaching near-fine, condition, with lightest bump to upper spine tip of facsimile volume. In like box that shows a little innocuous wear.

From the Taschen website: "Nearly a century before Mondrian made geometrical red, yellow, and blue lines famous, 19th-century mathematician Oliver Byrne employed the color scheme for his 1847 edition of Euclid’s mathematical and geometric treatise Elements. Byrne’s idea was to use color to make learning easier and “diffuse permanent knowledge.” The result has been described as one of the oddest and most beautiful books of the 19th century. The facsimile of Byrne’s seminal publication is herewith available in a beautiful new edition. A masterwork of art and science, it is as remarkable in the boldness of its red, yellow, and blue figures and diagrams as it is in the mathematical precision of its theories. In the simplicity of forms and colors, the pages anticipate the vigor of De Stijl and Bauhaus design. In making complex information at once accessible and aesthetically engaging, this work is a forerunner to the information graphics that today define much of our data consumption."