A critical survey and inventory of the edited works of Carl Friedrich gauss

Abstract

Gauss’s works were edited by the Academy of Sciences of Göttingen; this work took 70 years, from 1863 to 1933. The main editors were Ernst Schering (1833–1897) and Felix Klein (1849–1925). Klein’s collaborators finally finished the edition, consisting of 12 volumes. This paper describes the genesis of these works. Gauss’s works are exceptional, because they include not only the published work, but also manuscripts, letters, commentaries, reviews, and so on. The situation is quite confusing and it is not easy to obtain a general overview. The reason for this is that Felix Klein did not begin where Schering ended. While Schering had a clear concept, which he followed, Klein and his followers chose to publish what they thought to be of interest. The result is an edition that cannot claim to be critical.