Is a 16th Century Copy of Euclid's Elements a Rare Find?

[Treadstone 71]

17th Century Copy of "Elements"

I found an actual 16th century (or so the seller claims, but it matches up with what I've read about, i.e., only 6 books translated, plus 11-12. etc.) copy of a translation of Euclid's "Elements". I'm very tempted to buy it, but I want to know if it's rare. This is as a collection item only, as I realize that mathematically it really makes no difference whether I have this copy of Dover's recent edition (which I do).

*EDIT* Typo, 16th century.

 

[JasonRox]

Depends how much you are paying.

May I ask how much?

 

[tribdog]

rare? HA! I've got 6 copies myself.
I'm sorry I lied to make myself look impressive. I don't have 6 copies only 4.
Okay I don't have any copies. I've never had any copies and the oldest book I've ever owned was a used paperback from 1967.

 

[Treadstone 71]

50$ Canadian.

 

[hypatia]

Dont buy it...a book from the 1500's for 50 bucks? Smells very wrong.

 

[Treadstone 71]

Actually it's from the 1700's. It does smell wrong, in many ways.

 

[JasonRox]

That's pretty cheap.

Sounds like a reprint.

 

[Evo]

The 1825 printed editions are selling for $250-$300.

What information do you have from this book?

 

[tribdog]

a 16th century book from the 1700s, that is extremely rare.

 

[rachmaninoff]

All 16th century books came to us from the 1700s.

 

[Evo]

All 16th century books came to us from the 1700s.

They did? What about the ones from the 1500's?

 

[rachmaninoff]

They sat idly in the 1700's for over almost a hundred years.

 

[tribdog]

all 16th century century books came through the 1700s but they were 200 years old when they were there.

 

[JasonRox]

A real rarity would be a book from the Library of Alexandria.

I wouldn't want to be the student who forget to return it!

 

[tribdog]

truthfully though. If this sounds like a steal it can only be one of three things a treasure, a fraud or a stolen book. two out of three choices are bad for you. If you knew anything about old books you might be able to make an intelligent choice but you don't.
All that being said $50 bucks is two hours worth of work, I screwed around longer than that today. Wait, $50 Canadian, make that one hours work. Go for it.

 

[Treadstone 71]

Wait a minute, if it's from the 1700's, then it's actually from the 18th century... or the other way around.

God damn it, I hate history and the calendar.

 

[tribdog]

Wait a minute, if it's from the 1700's, then it's actually from the 18th century... or the other way around.

God damn it, I hate history and the calendar.

Welcome to the 19th century

 

[Treadstone 71]

Welcome to the 19th century

I'm going to celebrate like it's 999.