WHEWELL, William History of the Inductive Sciences, from the Earliest to the Present Time. A new edition, revised and continued. In three volumes / The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences, founded upon their History. A new edition, with corrections and additions, and an appendix, containing philosophical essays previously published, in two volumes. London: John W. Parker. 1847.

Five volumes in all: xliv, 466; xi, 602; xii, 696 pp., folding chart in vol. 1 / xxxii[ii], 708; xiv, 679 pp. Contemporary vellum gilt, with contrasting labels to spines, a little rubbed and soiled, but overall a handsome set.

Presentation inscriptions in volume 1 of each - presented to Marlborough School in memory of Robinson Duckworth, dated 1911.
It is in the area of history and philosophy of science that William Whewell's real claim to greatness lies. In 1837 he provided a magnificent survey of the history of the sciences, the three-volume 'History of the Inductive Sciences', and then three years later, in 1840, he followed this with the two-volume 'Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences'. There were various reasons why he produced these books, but undoubtedly a major factor was the aim of making a place for science and its practitioners - Whewell wanted to show what science had done and he wanted to mark out the features of science well done. Michael Ruse in Dictionary of Nineteenth-Century British Philosophers.