Cycle Celestial Objects by Smyth William Henry, First Edition (5 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 8vo (255 x 160 mm). ix, [4], 14-96 pp., one color plate, text diagrams and tables. Publisher's blue cloth, "Colours of Double-Stars" stamped in gilt on front board and spine, original yellow endpapers (head of spine with minor repair), cloth spotted and stained, corners bumped, light wear to extremities). Pages opened bu uncut. Text little age-toned, but in all clean and bright throughout. Provenance: William Parsons, 3rd. Earl of Rosse, Birr Castle (armorial bookplate of Smyth to front pastedown), presented from the author and inscribed on front pastedown, 'Presented to Lord Rosse, F.R.S. etc. etc. etc. with the respects of Admiral Smyth & D. Lee, Hartwell, 10 December, 1864." ---- RARE FIRST EDITION, and one of a few copies printed for presentation, of the work on the color and brightness of stars, published one year before the author's death. William Henry Smyth was an admiral of the Royal Navy and a British astronomer. In 1817 he met the Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi in Palermo and visited his observatory. This awakened his interest in astronomy. So in 1825 he took leave of the Navy and established a private observatory in Bedford, England. Smyth's Sidereal Chromatics can be regarded a landmark work in 19th century astronomy, providing the most precise observations of the colors of double stars ever recorded. The work provides both a theory of the origin of the colors of double stars and a method for describing them as accurately as possible. Detailed diagrams compare Smyth's measurements of more than one hundred double stars with his own previously published observations and those of his astronomy colleague, Father Benedetto Sestini. This edition also includes Smyth's famous color chart, an attempt to standardize the process of identifying double star colors. - Visit our website to see more images! Inscribed by Author(s).

Hardcover. 1st Edition. 4to., (11 4/8 x 9 1/8 inches). Title-page with engraved vignette. 6 fine engraved plates, including one in colour, and numerous illustrations in the text. Contemporary maroon half morocco, gilt (extremities worn with minor loss). Provenance: with the bookplate of William H. Pulsifer on the front paste-down. First edition. Smyth, a naval officer and surveyor, one of the founders of the RGS, he was the author of many volumes, including an earlier astronomical work "The Cycle of Celestial Objects for the Use of Naval, Military, and Private Astronomers" (1844), for which he was awarded the gold medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, and "Aedes Hartwellianae" in 1851. The astronomical observatory at Hartwell described in great detail in this book was built between 1830 and 1839 by John Lee (who also funded the printing of this volume) to Smyth's specifications.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good with no dust jacket. First English Edition. 6 lbs B&W Illustrations; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; viiii,[4],516,4pp. ads; xx,560 pages; Numerous text illustrations. Half-titles; publisher's 4-page catalogue at end of Volume 2. 2 volumes. 8vo, modern gilt-lettered black cloth; old institutional stamps on titles. First edition of a classic guide to amateur astronomy. The first volume is a general introduction to the subject; the second, known as the Bedford Catalogue, records 850 objects seen from the author's private observatory at Bedford. A career naval officer, Smyth (1788-1865) devoted his attention to astronomy from 1830 onward. One of his sons was Charles Piazzi Smyth (1819-1900) , astronomer royal for Scotland. BEA, page 1070. Illustrated with a large number of textural engravings and drawings.

2 volumes. 8vo. viii, [4], 516; xx, 560 pp. Original half purple calf, gilt-stamped spines, decorative publisher's cloth sides, green floral pattern endleaves; rubbed. Ownership signatures of H.J. Lewis [or T.H. Lewes?] and Rev. J.B. Allison (of Chesterfield, a star-gazer in 1883). Very good. WITH AN AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR. Very Scarce. The true first edition of William Henry Smyth's classic handbook intended for amateur astronomers. George Lovi calls it "THE FIRST TRUE CELESTIAL BAEDEKER and not just another 'cold' catalogue of mere numbers and data." / AN AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR [to an unknown astronomer]: On his personal stationary "St. John's Lodge, near Aplesbury, [U.K.]. dated 11-10-'58 [October 11, 1858]. "My dear colleague, When I sent you a copy of my lugubrious "Farewell" to e Virginis, I think I omitted to enclose a set of the measures upon which her present epoch is based, - so here it is. / I propose to be at Almack's next Thursday (D.V.) :: at 6 P.M. :: in the hope of meeting you there, & meantime am, as always, Yours most truly, W.H. Smyth." / St. John's Lodge [Cardiff] was the author's home as well as the place where he made many of his astronomical observations and calculations. / "In 1825 Smyth established a private observatory in Bedford, England, equipped with a 5.9-inch refractor telescope. He used this instrument to observe a variety of deep sky objects over the course of the 1830s, including double stars, star clusters and nebulae. He published his observations in 1844 in the Cycle of Celestial Objects, which earned him the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1845 and also the presidency of the society. The first volume of this work was on general astronomy, but the second volume became known as the Bedford Catalogue and contained Smyth's observations of 1,604 double stars and nebulae. It served as a standard reference work for many years afterward; no astronomer had previously made as extensive a catalogue of dim objects such as this. It was reprinted in 1986, and in the Foreword to that edition George Lovi . . . writes, 'What makes it so special is that it is the first true celestial Baedeker and not just another 'cold' catalogue of mere numbers and data. Like the original Baedeker travel guidebooks of the last century, this work is full of colorful commentary on the highlights of the heavenly scene and heavily influenced several subsequent works of its type, even to the present day. . . . It is in the descriptive material that Smyth is a delight. He not only describes what the user of a small telescope will see, but also includes much fascinating astronomical, mythological, and historical lore. Many of these descriptions are especially valuable for the novice and user of small telescopes of a size similar to Smyth's.'" / See: (2008). William H. Smyth, "The Bedford Catalog from Cycle of Celestial Objects; foreword by George Lovi, 1986." / Admiral William Henry Smyth KFM DCL FRS FRAS FRGS FSA (1788-1865), born in Westminster, England, was an English naval officer, hydrographer, astronomer and numismatist. He is noted for his involvement in the early history of a number of learned societies, for his hydrographic charts, astronomical work, and a wide range of publications and translations. He died at his home in St. John's Lodge, Cardiff, and buried in the little churchyard at Stone near Aylesbury. PROVENANCE: possibly owned by Thomas Lewis (1856-1927), who, for virtually the whole of his time at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, was in charge of the Time Department, having taken on this role following a rearrangement of responsibilities following Christieâs appointment as Astronomer Royal.

Condition: fine. 1st Edition. viiii,[4],516,4pp. ads; xx,560pp. Octavo. Illustrated with numerous engravings and drawings in text. Rebound in green quarter leather with marbled boards and gilt lettering on spine. New endpapers. Small rubber stamp on title page of each volume. A very attractive set. fine The true first edition ofWilliam Henry Smyth's classic handbook intented for amateur astronomers. Very Scarce.