Mathematical Treasures - Commercial Arithmetic from Spain

Suma de arithmetica pratica y de todas mercaderias (1546) is a Spanish commercial arithmetic with a strong emphasis on the techniques of accounting. Little is known of the author, Gaspar de Texeda, except that he was Spanish and lived in the 16th century. The title page of the Suma is shown here.

Several algorithms for multiplication are demonstrated.

The discussion on the operation of division is illustrated by two examples.

The images above are provided courtesy of Columbia University Libraries, George Arthur Plimpton Collection.

Index to Mathematical Treasures