Amazing stuff!
Were they really reading and understanding this famous magnus opus or were they just book collectors trying to impress contemporaries? Apparently, the former happened.
"... A 1950s search found only 189 copies of the first edition, published in 1687 under the full title Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (SN: 7/4/87). .. [recently] ... unearthed 386 copies, suggesting a more substantial readership. ... By tracking down original owners and studying the annotations that readers made, the researchers conclude that, in addition to scientists, well-educated laypeople were reading the book too. ..."
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