ADAMS, ASTRONOMICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL ESSAYS, TWO EDITIONS

i. Astronomical and geographical essays: containing, I. A comprehensive view of the General Principles of Astronomy. II. The use of the celestial and terrestrial globes… III. The description and use of the armillary sphere, planetarium, tellurian, and lunarium. IV. An introduction to practical astronomy. London: Printed for the author by R. Hindmarsh, 1789, FIRST EDITION, 8vo, engraved frontispiece, 21 folding engraved plates, contemporary calf, (bought from The Antiquarian Scientist, Acton, MA, 1993, Catalogue 24, item 3, $875), [T&W A8; ESTC T64608] A replacement for the Treatise on Globes published by the author's father in 1766, adding much new material, including an introduction to astronomy in general, a section on the use of observatory instruments, and newly-engraved plates. The last fifteen pages are a priced catalogue of instruments, integral with the text. ii. Astronomical and geographical essays. London: R. Hindmarsh for the author, 1790, second edition, 8vo, 21 folding engraved plates, recent half calf, (bought from the Gemmary, 1991), [T&W A9; ESTC T88409] For this second edition, “a few sections were rewritten or otherwise amended, chiefly to incorporate the latest ideas on the structure of the universe arising from observations with Herschel’s large telescopes” (J.R. Millburn, Adams of Fleet Street, Instrument makers to King George III, Aldershot 2000, p.218).

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