Equations as Unruly Objects

Abstract

Abstract Specialized notation, complexity, and sheer length contributed to the unruly nature of 18th-century equations, whether in manuscript or printed form. By close examination of early modern material texts, this essay compares constraints and affordances of the pen and the composing stick for setting boundaries and imposing order on algebraic expressions. Drawing on French and British mathematical works, it considers typesetting practices and advice to readers in influential algebra textbooks, compares mathematical manuscripts prepared for print and the printed results, unpacks oversize pages brimming with derivations and multiple cases, and reflects on practices of mise-en-page in the Mémoires of the Paris Academy of Sciences and the Philosophical Transactions. It thus invites attention to the tools, gestures, and traces of amateur, expert, reader, writer, and typesetter in 18th-century algebra.