1882 Horse in Motion 1st Edition, Quadrupedal Locomotion

Description: The Horse in Motion as Shown by Instantaneous Photography with a Study on Animal Mechanics Founded on Anatomy and the Revelations of the Camera in Which is Demonstrated the Theory of Quadrupedal Locomotion. By J. D. B. Stillman, A.M., M.D., Executed and Published Under the Auspices of Leland Stanford. Boston: James R. Osgood and Company. 1882. First Edition. 127 pp + 107 plates (complete), 12.5 x 10.5", 4to. In fair condition. Decorated brown cloth boards normally scuffed at edges and worn/bumped at corners. Head and tail of spine bumped. Gilt lettering overall bright and clean. Some scuffing to binding, but overall attractive. Top edge gilt. Bookseller's ticket found on top edge of front paste-down: "Macdonald & Sons, Boston." Front gutter split at frontispiece (verso), binding exposed. Gift inscription, in ink, found on front fly-leaf: "From Dad to H. P. Sweeny Jr., From H. P. Sweeny Sr., Christmas 1917." Title exhibits age-staining and some finger-soiling; frontispiece exhibits small tear at top edge. Light toning throughout text-block; mostly at edges of leaves. Some tissue guards are dog-eared or torn at edges. Binding intact; front hinge worn. Please see photos and ask questions, if any, before purchasing. Eadweard Muybridge (1830 – 1904, born Edward James Muggeridge) was an English photographer known for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion, and early work in motion-picture projection. In 1872, the former governor of California, Leland Stanford, a businessman and race-horse owner, hired Muybridge for a portfolio depicting his mansion and other possessions, including his racehorse Occident. Stanford also wanted a proper picture of the horse at full speed, and was frustrated that the existing depictions and descriptions seemed incorrect. The human eye could not fully break down the action at the quick gaits of the trot and gallop. Up until this time, most artists painted horses at a trot with one foot always on the ground; and at a full gallop with the front legs extended forward and the hind legs extended to the rear, and all feet off the ground. There are stories that Stanford had made a $25,000 bet on his theories about horse locomotion, but no evidence has been found of such a wager. However, it has been estimated that Stanford spent a total of $50,000 over the next several years to fund his investigations. Many people were amazed at the previously unseen positions of the horse's legs in action, particularly the fact that a running horse had all four hooves in the air at regular intervals. This did not take place when the horse's legs were extended to the front and back, as imagined by illustrators of the time, but when its legs were collected beneath its body as it switched from "pulling" with the front legs to "pushing" with the back legs. In 1879, Muybridge continued with additional studies using 24 cameras, and published a very limited edition portfolio of the results. Muybridge had images from his motion studies hand-copied in the form of silhouettes or line drawings onto a disc, to be viewed in the machine he had invented, which he called a "zoopraxiscope". Later, his more-detailed images were hand-coloured and marketed commercially. A device he developed was later regarded as an early movie projector, and the process was an intermediate stage toward motion pictures or cinematography. FIRST EDITION. GIFT QUALITY!! All plates intact. RAREA1882HRSC 07/24 - HK1826

Price: 900 USD

Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

End Time: 2024-12-05T18:41:21.000Z

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