Opticks (Newton) – Acquiring a Copy of the Book "Opticks"

I recently acquired a copy of the book “Opticks” by Isaac Newton.

Because of my strong interest in electromagnetic energy, and because of all the discoveries I have made, I wanted to read the insights from the brilliant mind of Newton.

I heard mention of the book before, and I knew of the title, but I knew little more about it. I had read that Newton discussed diffraction, interference, and reflection in this book. I also heard that his main view was that of particles (“corpuscles”), but also had to come to terms with some type of wave motion (“undulation”).

So I went out in search of the book. I have discovered that this book is actually a something of a rarity.

First note that this book is not that common. My library did not have it, so I got it from an interlibrary loan. This means a library anywhere in Texas.

It is a great system. Usually a book will come from the Austin library system, or Dallas. But this time, the book came from…Brazosport Junior College Library! Wow. What an unexpected place to find a copy of the book. Again, for such a “great work”, it is not that available.

Coincidentally, the Preface to the book essentially says the same thing – that copies of this book are not that common.

Let’s start with the date. The copyright of this book is 1931. The actual book is a reprint of the 1931 edition, published in 1952.

Now let’s get to the Preface. Let me say that the Preface is very well written. The author of the preface, Bernard Cohen, has a lot to say about the book, and its place in history. I have learned a lot from his Preface.

But for now, my point is the rarity of the book “Opticks”. On the very first page of the preface, Bernard Cohen writes:

“….the Opticks remained out of print for a century and a half, until about two decades ago, while the Principia was constantly being reprinted”.

Therefore for much of history, the book Opticks was a rarity. From 1760 to 1910, the book Opticks remained out of print.

And Cohen's statement was made in 1931. My copy of the book is from 1952. And this copy was found in a Junior College in one of the smaller cities in this great state. (This town isn't even a suburb, but exists about an hour south of Houston...all the way at the edge of the state).

This book is a famous work on the nature of light (mostly on diffraction, reflection, and interference), and mostly based on experimental observations. Yet despite the famous author (Newton) and this being the first major work on light, the book itself is not that common.

Similarly, it seems that only a few people – those like me who are most interested – will have actually read this book. (And I am not sure that I will be able to get through the whole book myself).

Now I have my copy of this book. It will take me a long time to read, and along the way I will share some of what I have learned.