Notes from Isaac Newton on his most famous work Under the Hammer in London

The page and half notes for the planned second edition also include comments and diagrams by Scottish mathematician and astronomer David Gregory. The two scholars met and corresponded while Newton was working on a revision of the Principia in the 1690s.

Keith Moore, chief librarian of the Royal Society – the club of scholars that Newton presided over in the eighteenth century – said that Gregory “maintained a written dialogue with Newton. He met Newton and this partnership, roughly said, between the two made men refine Newton’s thinking.”

Newton finally gave up revising his book at the end of the seventeenth century, but was able to publish a new edition in 1713. In 1726, a third edition followed, which was also translated into English.

The handwritten document will be auctioned at Christie’s in London on July 8.

“Where collector in the world of signatures [eigenhandig geschreven teksten] Looking for the greatest minds in history talking about their greatest accomplishments,” said Vining. This combination is very, very rare. And that is exactly what you will find in this manuscript.”

Bronn: Associated Press.