Milestones of Science Books

MAYER, Johann Tobias.

Opera inedita / edidit et observationum appendicem adiecit Georgius Christophorus Lichtenberg. V. 1, Commentationes Societati Regiae Scientiarum oblatas, quae integrae supersunt, cum tabula selenographica complectens. [all published].

Göttingen: Johann Christian Dieterich, 1775.

1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Item #002677

4to (290 x 224 mm). [8], 110 pp., 4 engraved plates (one hand-coloured). Modern half calf over marbled boards, spine with gilt-lettered label, contemporary front endpaper bound in. Internally very little browned, some light spotting to margins, light brown spotting of title-page, very slight dampstaining to upper blank margin of p.105/106. Fine copy. ----

Ashworth, The face of the moon, Linda Hall 39 - "After Mayer's untimely death, George Christoph Lichtenberg undertook to edit some of Mayer's papers for publication, among them the smaller moon map of 1750. To engrave it, he selected Joel Paul Kaltenhofer, who was not only one of the best engravers in Germany, but a friend of Mayer, and himself a skilled lunar artist. Kaltenhofer's first attempt was rejected, but the second proved satisfactory... One unusual feature of the map is that it has north at the top, contrary to the tradition inaugurated by Cassini and continued by every other lunar map until 1960. When Schröter incorporated Mayer's map in his own moon book (Ashworth 14), he took exception to this disregard of convention, and had the map re-engraved with south up." (Ashworth). In his Opera inedita, Mayer was the first to introduce a system of lunar coordinates. - Visit our website to see more images!

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