Astronomical Instruments (3 results)

Booklet - Unbound Pages. Condition: Very Good. 7 pages. An authentic standalone article, extracted from a larger volume. Not a reprint or reproduction, but an original work in its own right. Preserved in a modern card cover, prepared for practicality - an unassuming but serviceable presentation that favours function over finery. Size: 16 x 24 cms. Category: Harper's Monthly Magazine; Cosmo Books : 29 years on ABE, 47 years taking care of customers. A bookseller you can rely on.

Planetarium Orrery stands 12.5 in. tall at the top of the central Sun made from yellow plastic, mounts on a 7.5 in. diameter moulded plastic base, the model extends 22 in. when fully extended with Mercury on opposite side of the Sun from Moon extending out from central Earth. The Earth is a paper-covered 4 in. globe mounted on a gear mechanism, mounted with wooden painted Moon, mounted on metal rod, as is the Venus globe which rotates around the moon, all of which are driven by chains when handle underneath the swing arm is moved. Moulded plastic base, has iron weight bolted underneath (minor closed crack to the outer fore-edge of the base, minor rippling to paint finish at base, chipping to plastic bushing at base of Earth & Lunar globes), still an exceptional piece in beautiful working condition. The Trippensee Planetarium tellurion, or "Elementary Planetarium" has been produced for over 90 years, and offers a wonderful astronomical mechanism depicting how day, night, and the seasons are caused by the movement of the Earth on its axis, and its orbit around the Sun. It shows solar and lunar eclipses, the motion of Venus in relation to the Sun, and the rotation. The globe shows the major continents and cities, with no internal political divisions, except for the continental United States & Alaska shaded in green on the North American continent. The Tellurion, or Tellurium, was patented by Alexander Laing originally in 1897, as an educational device to be used in schools. He set up operations in Detroit, MI, and was later bought out by the Trippensee brothers who introduced their own version with a more reliable bicycle-style chain and gear drive, and they sold them steadily. In order to further diversify the company they also built the Eddie Rickenbacker automobile for the E-M-F Company, until 1927 when the Everitt Company went under. Trippensee brothers moved later to Saginaw, Michigan where they occupied a three-story building at the corner of Cass and South Hamilton, staying in business until 1999 when they were purchased by Science First. Their Orrery planetariums were made originally from wood and brass, then Bakelite, and finally plastics. See: Mark Theobald, Coachbuiltcom, Trippensee Manufacturing Company, Rickenbacker Motors.

Large Folio. Coloured copper engraving.