The Mathematical Principles of Isaac Newton's Natural Philosophy

In a library in Ajaccio on the French island of Corsica, a first edition was discovered entirely by accident. Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy) by Isaac Newton (1687). Newton's work became the foundation for scientific understanding of gravity and motion. "The binding has some minor wear, but the book is in excellent condition," she told Agence France-Press Vannina Schirinsky-Schikhmatoff from the Musée Fesch in Ajaccio.

The discovery enabled a thorough study of the catalog of books that were donated to the library by its founder Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother. It must be admitted that Ms. Schirinsky-Schikhmatoff is lucky when it comes to rare items. In 2018, she discovered on the library shelves Thesaurus Hyeroglyphicorum , a study of Egyptian hieroglyphs, published around 1610. It preceded the research of Jean- Francois Champollion.

The find is all the more valuable because we know the approximate reliable market value of the first edition of Isaac Newton's work. In December 2016, at an auction  Christie's The copy was sold for $3.7 million. The photo illustrating the text shows an even more valuable copy, located in Cambridge. It contains corrections that were undoubtedly made by hand by Newton himself while working on the second edition. Philosophiae Naturalis …