BYRNE, OLIVER. 1810-1880., EUCLID. fl. 300 B.C.

The First Six Books of the Elements of Euclid in Which Coloured Diagrams and Symbols Are Used Instead of Letters for the Greater Ease of Learners. London: [Chiswick Press for] William Pickering, 1847.

EUCLID. fl. 300 B.C. The First Six Books of the Elements of Euclid in Which Coloured Diagrams and Symbols Are Used Instead of Letters for the Greater Ease of Learners. London: [Chiswick Press for] William Pickering, 1847.
8vo (214 x 183 mm). Printed in 4 colors. Full morocco, decorated and ruled in blind, titled in gilt, gauffered edges, foxing, custom morocco-backed folding box.
Provenance: Ownership name in ink of P. MacDarmid (dated 1921).

FIRST EDITION OF BYRNE'S EUCLID, "one of the oddest and most beautiful books of the whole century" (Mclean, p 70). With the rendering of Euclidean geometry into primary colors, Byrne argued, the "'Elements' of Euclid can be acquired in less than one third of the time usually employed and the retention by the memory is much more permanent" (preface). "The resulting book is a landmark of Victorian design and printing" (McLean, Victorian Book Design and Color Printing 1972, p 70).