Milestones of Science Books

BIRT, William Radcliff.

Contributions to Selenography. Illustrated by Three Maps and numerous engravings.

London: Printed by Taylor and Francis, 1874.

1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Item #002180

4to (285 x 230 mm). 6 parts in one volume: I. Outline lunar map, zone IV. area IVA with letterpress, 1870, pp- 1-12, 1 folding engraved plate. II. The Mare Serenitatis, its craterology and principal features, 1869, pp. 1-14, 1 engraved plate. III. Hipparchus, its characteristic features and craterology, 1870, pp. 15-20, 1 engraved plate. IV. A Catalogue of lunar objects with notes and illustrations, 1872, pp. 1-4, 1-4. V. Selections from the Portfolios of the Editors of the Lunar Map and Catalogue, first issue, 1873, pp. 1-8. VI. Selections from the Portfolios of the Editors of the Lunar Map and Catalogue, second issue, 1874, pp. 9-20, [2 of addenda]. Original card boards with publisher's printed title laid down, further general title on blue paper dated 1874 bound at beginning, 4 pp. of text, original blue printed wrappers to each part bound in. 6 leaves of BIRT's Lunar Committee Circulars no. II, III, IV, VI to the British Association for the Advancement of Science bound in after general title (smaller paper size), further bound in is BIRT's one-page abstract from The Exeter and Plymouth Gazette Daily Telegram, August 17th, 1869. Several illustrations and diagrams in text. Contemporary paper card boards, thin cloth spine (binding heavily worn with chipping to spine ends and board edges, front cover soiled and stained, detached with inner joint and a further leaf crudely fixed by tape). Text and plates lightly age-toned, a few occasional pencil and pen annotations. Provenance: British Astronomical Association (ink stamps to section titles). ----

FIRST AND ONLY EDITION, AND EXCEPTIONALLY RARE, of Birt's collected papers, being the result of his selenographic studies. William Radcliffe Birt (1804-1881) was an English amateur astronomer in the 19th century. His name is used for the Birt crater, a minor crater on the Moon. Birt worked extensively with John Herschel, carrying out a great deal of meteorological research on atmospheric waves. Between 1864 and 1870, under the auspices of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Birt undertook to produce a large map of the Moon 5 m in diameter, also in an attempt to surpass the large Schmidt's map in size. Only four sheets of it however were completed before Birt's death, and in 1882 the whole project was abandoned (see Z. Kopal & R. W. Carder, Mapping the Moon: Past and Present, 2013, p.33). - Visit our website to see more images!

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