Rare Book Of Nicolaus Copernicus Discovered At Lund University, Sweden

Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com - A rare copy of De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, the groundbreaking work by astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, has been discovered at Lund University Library in Sweden.

Remarkably, the book had remained unnoticed for more than a century, effectively hidden in plain sight. Its existence came to light during the digitization of over 800,000 library catalog cards.

One Of The Most Significant Scientific Books In History

”This is the sort of information that disappears through the centuries, but is now able to be discovered thanks to technology again,” says Kristian Knutsson, librarian at Lund University Library.

The recovered book is from the second edition, published in 1566 in Basel, Switzerland. Researchers have identified approximately 276 copies of the first edition and 325 copies of the second edition. Titled On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, this work is widely regarded as a pivotal moment in scientific history. It introduced the heliocentric model of the universe, positioning the Sun at its center instead of Earth, and played a crucial role in initiating the Scientific Revolution of the 16th century.

”This is beyond a doubt one of the most significant scientific books in history,” says Kristian Knutsson.

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The discovery in Lund followed a library patron's request for a more recent edition of the well-known book. Previously, searches were limited to the author’s name. However, once the library cards were digitized, it became possible to search the full text on each card. This advancement led to an unexpected discovery: the Copernicus book had been bound with another volume, so its presence was noted only on a card associated with a different author.

”When we discovered that we had a copy, of course we went to the stacks immediately, to check if it was really there – and it was. We were flabbergasted, to say the least,” concludes Kristian Knutsson in a press release.

Written by Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com Staff Writer