An annotated page from Isaac Newton's Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (Principia)

Isaac Newton, 1643-1727, the English mathematician and physicist, is considered one of the greatest scientists in history. First published in 1687, Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (translated to English as "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy") is one of the most important books on natural philosophy in which Newton establishes the modern science of dynamics and outlines his three laws of motion.

This extremely rare copy of the seminal text is believed to be a personal copy of Newton’s, which he and his assistant Roger Cotes sent to other mathematicians to eliminate any errors before the second edition was published. Scottish mathematician John Craig is thought to have authored the corrections which feature at the front of the book along with other annotations throughout. Further corrections can be seen in this copy, written by Roger Coates and Newton himself.

The University of Sydney Library copy is one of only four known copies annotated by Newton out of the surviving first edition copies. The other copies are all located in the Northern Hemisphere - two in the University of Cambridge Library and one in the Library of Trinity College.

In 1961 the University of Sydney was presented with this copy of Principia by representatives of Barbara Bruce-Smith and Beatrix Bruce Blomfield, heirs of the Hon. Arthur Bruce Smith. Bruce Smith was a member of Parliament, barrister-at-law, and King's Counsel, and assisted in the drafting of the Australian Federal Constitution, who had acquired this copy of Principia in 1908.