60 replies to this topic

[obrazell]

the only orginal set I saw for sale on Abebooks was £1900 for both volumes

[BrentKnight]

I guess we should all thank Cambridge...

[Pat Rochford]

Mine is the 1954 (4th) edition.  I've also got a 1st Edition copy of his Star Lore of All Ages.  It took a while to find one in good shape and cheap enough that I could afford it.

 

Field Book of the Skies.jpg

 

What is different in the older version?

 

I have a second edition (1914) of Olcott's A Field Book of the Stars.  Did it change to Field Book of the Skies by 1954, or are they two different books?

[BrentKnight]

Two different books.  Stars is a much shorter book - about 190 pages.  Each constellation is covered in two pages.  Skies is much longer at 482 pages and covers more topics - such as the moon - and in more depth.  The chapters on the constellations cover mythology, unaided and binocular viewing and objects for the telescope.

[BrentKnight]

I received my copy of George F. Chambers Handbook of Astronomy Vol. 3.  All I can say is wow, what a wonderful book.  The Handbook started out as a single volume update to Smyth's Cycle of Celestial Objects, but grew into a three volume set by the time it reached it's 4th edition.  Volume 3 is all about the deep sky objects that I love the most, but the other two volumes on telescopes and planets look very interesting too - especially the quality of their artwork.

 

 

I also received the first volume of Isaac Roberts A Selection of Photographs of Stars, Star-Clusters and Nebulae as a Cambridge POD reprint.  Through the use of photography with reflecting telescopes (Roberts used a 20") he was able to detect the spiral pattern of M31 for the first time.  The print and the contents of this book is great, but I was a bit disappointed with the quality of the reproduced photographs.  I will probably pick up the second volume, but I wish they would have been better...

 

[bobhen]

Here’s my 1945 first edition Atlas Der Sternbilder by Oswald Thomas. An impressive bio snippet of Mr. Thomas is below.

 

Oswald Thomas was born in Kronstadt (Siebenbuergen; now Brasov, Romania) on July 27, 1882. After getting school education in Kronstadt, he studied astronomy, math and physics in Heidelberg and Jena, and returned to Kronstadt in 1906 as a professional astronomer. He founded the Astronomisches Buero (Astronomical Bureau) in Kronstadt in 1907. He came to Vienna in 1913 and took the Astronomical Bureau with him, became Director of the Urania Observatory in Vienna 1915-1922, founded the "Österreichischer Astronomischer Verein" in 1924, and set up the Planetarium in the Vienna Prater area in 1927. He died in Bonn, Germany on February 7, 1963.

Oswald Thomas is commemorated by the Oswald-Thomas-Platz in Vienna, now the address of the Vienna Zeiss Planetarium.

 

The atlas was gifted to me some 45-years ago by a neighbor who taught high school German and whose son had a small refractor. They were an interesting family.

 

Bob

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[chriscorkill]

"What book by Barns are you talking about BTW?"

I was referring to "1001 Celestial wonders as observed with home-built instruments" by C.E. Barns (1928). Never have seen a copy.

I do like reading the old books. One of my projects this winter is reading several introductory astronomy text, from oldest to most recent.

I got SUPER lucky and found this today at Half Price Books for $20. I knew it was worth buying!

 

Interestingly, it has the name of “R N Tucker 1928” written in pencil on the inside cover of it. 
 

There is also a call number of “QB43.B3” written inside and a number of “2361” randomly printed on the title page

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Edited by chriscorkill, 09 March 2023 - 11:19 PM.

[chriscorkill]

Sorry had to make another post to attach the other two pictures. 

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[BrentKnight]

That is an absolutely fabulous find.  Congratulations...

[prefus]

Here are my copies of two portfolios: Isaac Roberts' Atlas of 52 Regions - A Guide to Herschel's Fields (published in 1927), and Isaac Roberts' Atlas of 52 Regions - A Guide to Herschel's Fields of Nebulosity Supplement (1932), each measuring about 12x14 ½ inches. Both were published by Mrs. Dorothea Klumpke (1861-1942), an American astronomer and wife of Isaac Roberts (Welsh astronomer, 1829-1904).

 

The first portfolio contains 60, and the second one contains 24 printed sheets – reproductions of Isaac Roberts' astro photographs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BrentKnight]

Can't help saying I'm a little jealous.  I've never been able to find either of those...  I was beginning to think there might not be any more.  Thanks for posting!