Galileo 1st Editions

The Galileo's 1st Editions that are a part of this exhibition.

Exhibit Items

	Starry Messenger Galileo, (1610) Featuring Galileo's Handwriting. When Galileo heard news of telescopes invented in the Netherlands he worked out the underlying geometry and crafted one of his own design. In this work, Galileo published the first observations of the heavens made with the telescope.
1	The Operations of the Geometrical and Military Compass, 1606 Galilei, Galileo (1606) Featuring Galileo's Handwritting. Galileo dedicated the manual for his engineering compass to young Cosimo II de Medici, whom he had tutored in mathematics the previous summer.
1	Letters on Sunspots Galileo, (1613) In a 1611 book published by the Academy of the Lynx, the Jesuit astronomer Christoph Scheiner argued that sunspots are little planets circling the Sun like Venus. Galileo answered Scheiner with this book.
1	Discourse on Two New Sciences Galileo, (1638) Under house arrest after his trial, Galileo turned his attention to a number of topics that had long interested him. This is his masterwork of physics, the last book of Galileo’s to be published in his lifetime. These two sciences concern tensile strength and motion.
1	The Ancient and Modern Doctrines of the Holy Fathers Galileo, (1636) In response to gathering criticism, Galileo in 1615 wrote a reconciliation of Scripture and Copernicanism which circulated in manuscript as the Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina. This is the first printed edition, which appeared in 1636.
2	Discourse on Floating Bodies Galileo, (1612) To provide entertainment at a dinner held by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Galileo debated the Aristotelian physicist Lodovico delle Columbe on the topic of floating bodies. Galileo employed Archimedes’ mathematical analysis.
3	Discourse on the Comets Galileo , (1619) In this book, Galileo opened a “Controversy over the Comets” by attacking Grassi. Published under the name of his student, Mario Guiducci, it was actually written almost entirely by Galileo himself.
4	Considerations on Tasso Galileo, (1793) Galileo employed his scientific acumen to engage in the literary debates of the day. Here he considered the merits of Tasso and Ariosto, comparing both with Dante. Using his new physics of tensile strength, Galileo refuted Ariosto’s indiscriminate descriptions of giants.
4	Defense Against the Calumnies and Impostures of Baldessar Capra! Galileo, (1607) Featuring Galileo's Handwriting. Galileo published his second printed book to establish his priority rights and to inform Cosimo de Medici of the legal judgment against Capra. This copy, bound with the Compasso, is inscribed by Galileo to a Florentine physician.
4	Response to the Opposition of Lodovico delle Colombe Galileo, (1615) Some of Galileo’s most avid opponents were Aristotelian physicists who, lacking training in mathematics, were unable to refute Galileo’s arguments.
5	Letters from Galileo to Prince Federigo Cesi Galileo, (1629?) In these letters, Galileo thanked Cesi for his support of the Academy. Galileo quickly became the most illustrious member of the Lynx. Until Cesi’s death in 1630, he provided Galileo and other Lynx members with intellectual, financial and moral support.
5	A Probing of the Astronomical Balance Stelluti, Giovanni Battista (1622) In the Scandaglio, Galileo’s friends tried to refute Grassi’s Astronomical Balance. This obscure and mysterious work appeared under the name of the brother of the better-known Francesco Stelluti, one of the founders of the Academy of the Lynx and friend of Galileo and Prince Cesi.
6	The Assayer, early state Galileo , (1623) The crest of the Barberini family, showing three busy bees, appears at the top of the frontispiece. Galileo’s supporter, Cardinal Maffeo Barberini, had become Pope Urban VIII. The election of Barberini seemed to assure Galileo of support at the highest level in the Church.
7	The Assayer, later state Galileo , (1623) Although Galileo eloquently championed mathematical methods in science, the main target of his wit and sarcasm in The Assayer was Grassi, a fellow astronomer, whose mathematical methods proved that comets move above the Moon.
7	Dialogue on the Two Chief Systems of the World Galileo, (1632) Featuring Galileo's Handwriting. This is Galileo’s witty and entertaining dialogue in defense of Copernicus. In the frontispiece, Aristotle and Ptolemy hold an Earth-centered armillary sphere (left). Copernicus holds a Sun-centered model of the universe (right).
15	Galileo, Mechanics Marsenne, Marin (1634) As a young scientist-engineer, Galileo wrote two manuscripts on motion. The first, Delle macchine, written ca. 1592; reflected the tradition of Aristotle’s Mechanics. It was never printed. The second, revised study, Le mechaniche, written ca.