L'HOSPITAL, Guillaume-François-André, marquis de Sainte-MesmeAnalyse des Infiniment Petits, pour l'intelligence des lignes courbes. Paris, Imprimerie Royale, 1696.

4to mm. 250 x 200, Contemporary full calf binding, gilt title and ornaments on the spine, 5 ribs; pp. 16, 181, 3, with 11 copper folded plates out text. Vignette on the title page with the Royal coat of arms, headpiece and an initial letter at the beginning of the preface, 2 beautiful end-pieces, and a large headpiece at the beginning of the text with the with the allegory of geometry engraved on copper by Le Pautre. Some slight foxing but fine specimen.

First very rare edition of this famous text in the history of the origins of calculus. "L'Hospital was a major figure in the early development of the calculus on the continent of Europe. He advanced its cause not only by his scientific works but also by his many contacts, including correspondence with Leibnitz, with Jean Bernoulli, and with Huygens” [Gillispie, D.S.B., VI/p. 304]. Il marchese G.-F.-A. de L'Hospital, matematico e capitano di cavalleria [1661-1704], pubblicò, seguendone personalmente la stampa, questa prima edizione, che risultò tuttavia caratterizzata da diversi errori; la seconda edizione, del 1715, apparve postuma. Honeyman, n. 2006: "The first text-book in the differential calcul".