On the Mechanical Performance of Logical Inference" (Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 160, pp. 497-518) by Jevons, William Stanley - 1870

HANDSOMELY BOUND, FULL VOLUME FIRST EDITION & "FIRST PUBLISHED DESCRIPTION" OF [JEVONS'] LOGIC MACHINE, often called a ‘logical piano' because of its resemblance to that instrument" (The Origins of Cyberspace, 137). Jevons' machine was the first logic machine with enough power to solve complicated problems with superhuman speed" - in other words, faster than could a human being. In 1866, William Stanley Jevons, an English economist and logician, was appointed Professor of Logic and Mental and Moral Philosophy at Owens College, Manchester. As did many other logicians of the 19th century, Jevons wanted to elucidate clear links between mathematics and logic. He was particularly drawn toward developing the ways in which logical problems could be resolved by just repeatedly applying simple, mechanical rules. It was during this time that a principle of reasoning dawned on him that he expressed as follows: "Whatever is true of a thing is true of its like" (Jevons, Elementary Lessons on Logic). The… Read More

London: Taylor and Francis, 1870. First edition. Extract from Philosophical Transactions, Vol. 160, part II, pp.497-518, with the general title for that number, 3 lithographed plates, book label "R. S." to verso of title and 2 plates. 4to. First edition. Extract from Philosophical Transactions, Vol. 160, part II, pp.497-518, with the general title for that number, 3 lithographed plates, book label "R. S." to verso of title and 2 plates. 4to. Early computing. The first edition of Jevons' landmark paper presenting his "logical piano" (so called due to its appearance), the first machine capable of solving problems at superhuman speed and a key precursor of the modern computer. Origins of Cyberspace 330; Tomash & Williams J15

London: Taylor & Francis, 1870. First edition. Original wrappers. Fine. A LANDMARK IN COMPUTER SCIENCE: FIRST EDITION OF JEVONS'S PRESENTATION AND EXPLANATION OF HIS "LOGICAL PIANO", THE FIRST MACHINE TO SOLVE A MATHEMATICAL PROBLEM AT SUPERHUMAN SPEED. Jevons invented a "logical piano" (so named because it resembled a small upright piano) that could perform, through a sequence of switches, various types of logical calculations. In doing so, he became "the first person to construct a machine with sufficient power to solve a complicated problem faster than the problem could be solved without the machine's aid" (Goldstine, The Computer from Pascal to von Neumann ). "From his thinking on the processes of logical inference, [Jevons] developed the idea that these might be performed mechanically. As early as 1865 he was trying to build a 'reasoning machine, or logical abacus' (Papers, 4.69), which evolved through several stages into a 'logical… Read More