When Copernicus, the Polish astronomer, found he had clear evidence that the earth revolves around the sun, he was very cautious about how he announced his discovery. This book did not appear until after his death, when he was beyond the reach of those angered at the way he had shattered the geocentric universe. This is a great copy, bound in contemporary continental vellum, of one of the defining books of the scientific renaissance. It was owned by an astronomer, who filled the pages with scholarly annotations, and subsequently by the Scottish economist Adam Smith.