Mathematical Treasure: Hodder's Arithmetick

The seventeenth century English writing-master, James Hodder, maintained an academy for young boys in London at which he also taught commercial arithmetic. In 1661, he published a textbook on arithmetic:

Hodder's arithmetick: or, that necessary art made most easie; being explain'd in a way familiar to the capacity of any that desire to learn it in a little time.

This book became extremely popular, eventually going through 27 editions. In 1719, the first American edition was printed in Boston. The printer, James Franklin, was the brother of the scientist and statesman, Benjamin Franklin.

Complete editions of Hodder’s Arithmetick can be viewed in the archive Eighteenth Century Collections Online (Gale Cengage Learning).

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