LONDON (AP) β Handwritten notes that show one of historyβs greatest scientific minds in action are going up for auction in London.
Pages containing Isaac Newtonβs jotted revisions to his masterwork, the βPrincipia,β are expected to sell next month for between 600,000 pounds and 900,000 pounds ($850,000 and $1.3 million), auctioneer Christieβs said Tuesday.
Published in 1687, Newtonβs βPhilosophiae naturalis principia mathematicaβ β βMathematical Principles of Natural Philosophyβ β set out the laws of gravitation and motion and is considered a scientific watershed. A first edition of the book sold at auction for $3.7 million in 2016.
Thomas Venning, head of books and manuscripts at Christieβs in London, said the book βreinvented our understanding of the universe.β
The page and a half of notes for a planned second edition includes comments and diagrams by Scottish mathematician and astronomer David Gregory. The two scientists met and corresponded while Newton worked on revising the βPrincipiaβ in the 1690s.
Venning said that when he was working on the revisions, Newton was βfizzing with the energy of one of the greatest minds the world has ever seen."
βAnd we can see that at work, the speed with which heβs writing, the ferment of ideas coming out from his pen,β he said.
Keith Moore, head librarian at the Royal Society β the scientistsβ club where Newton was president in the 18th century β said Gregory βkept up a written dialogue with Newton. He met Newton and that partnership, almost, between the two of them, resulted in refining Newtonβs thinking.β
Newton eventually gave up on the revisions, but ultimately produced a new edition in 1713.
The document will go under the hammer at Christieβs in London on July 8.
βWhat a collector in the autograph world is looking for is the greatest minds in history, talking about their greatest achievements,β Venning said. βItβs very, very rare to have that combination. And thatβs what you have in this particular manuscript.β