Annuities upon Lives First Edition - Abraham de Moivre - Bauman Rare Books

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Annuities upon Lives

Abraham de MOIVRE

Item#: 66221 We're sorry, this item has been sold

Annuities upon Lives

Annuities upon Lives

“A STANDARD PART OF ALL SUBSEQUENT COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS”: VERY SCARCE FIRST EDITION OF DE MOIVRE’S ANNUITIES UPON LIVES, 1725, A FOUNDING WORK IN THE MODERN DEVELOPMENT OF LIFE INSURANCE

MOIVRE, A[braham] de. Annuities upon Lives: or, the Valuation of Annuities upon any Number of Lives; as also, of Reversions. London: Printed by W.P. and sold by Francis Fayram, 1725. Octavo, contemporary full calf sympathetically rebacked, raised bands, elaborately gilt-decorated spine. Housed in a custom clamshell box.

First edition of de Moivre’s historic study of annuities and mortality statistics, a pioneering influence on life insurance by a valued contemporary of Newton, containing numerous calculations, along with Halley’s “Table of Observations” and de Moivre’s Annuity table, complete with errata, in contemporary calf.

The French-born Abraham de Moivre immigrated to England in the 1680s, where he soon became one of only a “few privileged young men who were allowed access to Newton’s papers,” and emerged as a premiere mathematician of the age (Christianson, 62). De Moivre’s work on probability and statistical analysis alone led Newton to urge his students, “Go to Mr. De Moivre; he knows these things better than I do.” In Annuities upon Lives, de Moivre pursued his “great interest in the analysis of mortality statistics and the foundation of the theory of annuities,” a passion partly inspired by his friendship with scientist Edmond Halley who earlier protested “the inane life annuities still being sold by the British government, in which the age of the annuitant was not considered relevant” (DSB). Using newly developed methods, De Moivre here formulated his own “theory of annuities, deriving his formulas from a postulated uniform rate off mortality and constant rates of interest on money” (Norman 1530). With this influential work, “De Moivre’s mathematics became a standard part of all subsequent commercial applications in England” (DSB). Woodcut engraved initials, head and tailpieces. With errata slip at rear; with two-line errata (viii). Garrison & Morton 1690. Kress 3595. Contemporary owner inscription. Bookseller ticket.

Interior quite clean. An exceptional copy of a major foundational work in life insurance.

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Aquatint Copperplate process by which the plate is “bitten” by exposure to acid. By changing the areas of the plate that are exposed and the length of time the plate is submerged in the acid bath, the engraver can obtain fine and varying shades of gray that closely resemble watercolor washes. Although the name contains the word “tint”, this is a black-and-white printing process; aquatint plates can often be hand colored, however.
Armorial Used to describe a binding bearing the coat of arms of the original owner, or with bookplates incorporating the owner’s arms.
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Errata List of mistakes and corrections noted after printing, often compiled on a separate sheet or slip and inserted into the text block.
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