COURTIVRON Gaspard le Compasseur Traité d’Optique: où l’on donne la Théorie de la Lumière dans le système Newtonien, avec de nouvelles solutions des principaux Problèmes de Dioptrique & de Catoptrique.

Poggendorff, I, 489; D.S.B., III, p.454; Wallis, 220.7.

First edition. 

Member of the Académie des Sciences since 1744, Courtivron (1710-1785) published a large number of his works in the Mémoires of that academy; he also contributed to the Description des Arts et Métiers. 

“In his treatise on optics Courtivron assailed the Cartesian concept of light and championed the Newtonian. He did not servilely follow Newton, however, for his view color results from differences in speed rather than from those in weight. Furthermore, in affirming that dense mediums slow down light corpuscules, he made use of Fermat’s principle of least time, recently revived by Maupertuis.” (D.S.B.).

Fine copy.