Prodromus cometicus, quo historia, cometae anno 1664 exorti cursum, faciesque diversas capitis ac caudae accurate delineats complectens; nec non Dissertatio de cometarum omnium motu, generatione, variisque phaenomenis, exhebitur. Ad.Dn. J. Bapt. Colbert, Regis Christianissimi a Sanctioribus Consiliis,.

With engraving on title-page showing the city of Danzig, 3 engraved plates (1 double-page) numbered A-C, woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces. (2) ff., 64 pp. Folio (374 x 232 mm.). Contemporary boards. Gedani (i.e. Danzig/ Gdansk), Simon Reiniger for the author, 1665 (1666). First edition of a rarely found scientific book on comets by Johannes Hevelius (1611-1687). He took on the roles of observer, engraver, and publisher to ensure consistency between observation and publication. His fine and accurate engravings record the appearance and course of comets through the heavens in 1664-65. Along with Kepler and Cassini, Hevelius is the first to deal systematically and scientifically with comets. His observatory was considered the best in Europe (Dibner), and Hevelius' naked- eye observations were then famed for their accuracy. After Haller visited him in 1679 he could confirm to the Royal Society that whose position determinations were as accurate as those taken with the micrometric telescope Halley had brought with him. Hevelius' examination of the 1664 comet contains his observations that scholars prefer to speculate on the significance of the appearance of comets than their physical characteristics.- Light occasional pale soiling, few partly large dampstains or brownings, some old repairs. Otherwise nice and rare. - VD17 39:125104Y; not in Norman; cf. Dibner 10. SCIENCE:ASTRONOMY & ASTROLOGY ; GRAPHIC ARTS:ILLUSTRATED BOOKS ;