4to (228 x 178 mm). 3 folding plates (Some minor offsetting and toning). Later calf gilt with original calf pasted over, tan leather lettering piece gilt, edges sprinkled red (rubbing). Provenance: Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford (1672-1739), diplomat and statesman (bookplate). 

FIRST EDITION of Newton's attempts to verify historical accounts of ancient civilizations through astronomical principles. Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, served as British ambassador to The Hague and was later found to be a conspirator in the Atterbury Plot of 1720-22 which attempted a restoration of the Stuarts to the British throne. Babson 215.