Rare Oxford book published 467 years ago could sell for £10k

The 'incredibly rare' first edition of The Castle of Knowledge by Welshman Robert Recorde was published in 1556 before Italian astronomer Galileo was even born.

It was the first astronomical text to be published in English and is believed to be the oldest surviving example of its kind in existence.

READ MORE: First look as Oxfordshire school to be rebuilt 

Mr Recorde studied at the University of Oxford in about 1525 and was elected a Fellow of All Souls College in 1531.

After choosing medicine as a profession, his studies continued at the University of Cambridge in 1545.

He returned to Oxford and taught mathematics. Later he worked in London as physician to King Edward VI and Queen Mary, to whom some of his books are dedicated.

The antique book is now expected to sell for a five figure sum when it goes under the hammer at Hansons Auctioneers in Staffordshire on Wednesday.

Jim Spencer, head of books at Hansons, said: “This is an amazing discovery.

"It might be the most important scientific text I've ever handled. It's the first astronomical treatise to be published in English.

“This book was printed 467 years ago, before many of the major astronomers had even been born, including Galileo (1564-1642), who’s described as the father of observational astronomy, Kepler, Huygens, Newton and Herschel.

“The vendor consigned a large box full of antiquarian books, and this one jumped out at me with its allegorical woodcut title page and charming illustrations.

"It felt special. A little research quickly revealed its significance and scarcity.

"The author, Robert Recorde, invented the equals sign, so the equation I proffer for this auction is that an important book equals big price.

“I can only find one other copy sold at auction. It fetched $90,000 (£74,200) at Bonhams in 2007.

"The same book previously sold at Sotheby’s in 1971. Admittedly our copy is not so well-preserved, but it's just incredibly rare." 

Experts say the book is important for three reasons including being the oldest surviving original English astronomy book, rather than a translation.

It is is one of the first English astronomy books to mention Polish astronomer Copernicus’ De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres), and the heliocentric system.

Copernicus (1473-1543) formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than Earth at its centre.

In addition, Mr Recorde not only refers to ancient Greek philosopher Plato but also to fellow Greek philosopher Proclus, so had access to Neoplatonic source material.

Mr Recorde was born around 1512 in Tenby, Pembrokeshire.

He was also controller of the Royal Mint.

But after being sued for defamation by a political enemy, he was arrested for debt and died in the King's Bench Prison, Southwark, in 1558.