Mathematical Treasure: Potts's Elements of Euclid

Robert Potts (1805-1885) was an English mathematician. His Euclid’s Elements of Geometry (first published in 1845, and quickly followed by a "school edition" in 1846) was greatly admired for its structure and organization. During a period in the British Isles when the teaching of Euclidean geometry was being hotly debated, Potts's text became a standard for geometry teaching both in Great Britain and the United States. The school edition shown here is the American version of 1871 based on the fifth English edition of 1859, which in turn was based on the third English edition of 1850.

The “Preface” provides a background for the book, and also emphasizes the importance of mathematics education.

The images above were obtained through the courtesy of the University of Toronto OISE Library. The book may be viewed in its entirety in the Internet Archive.

Index to Mathematical Treasures