The Wonders of the Telescope; Or, A Display of the Starry Heavens and of the System of the Universe: Calculated to Promote and Simplify the Study of Astronomy
London: Printed for Richard Phillips by B. McMillan, 1809.
Hardcover. "One of these Instruments astonishes us by the wonders it displays, relative to the infinite divisibility of matter and the perfection of objects comparatively minute, and the other demonstrates our own insignificance, by affording us a glimpse of infinite space and of the myriads of worlds and systems of worlds by which it is filled..." Thus does the author, likely Sir Richard Phillips (1767—1840)—a farmer's son who would rise in the world of letters, from rebel bookseller (jailed in 1792 for stocking Thomas Paine's Rights of Man) to controversial publisher, political activist, and strict vegetarian, even becoming a sheriff of London knighted by the King—"claim the humble merit of introducing his fellow-creatures" to The Wonders of the Telescope. First published in 1805, following a previous work on the wonders of the microscope, this is an early 1809 printing of Sir Richard Phillips' introduction to astronomy, stunningly illustrated in 14 plates, most fold-out, of the moon, planets Venus, Mars, and Jupiter, constellations, the comet of 1680, "The Luminous Space in the Sword of Orion," and more.
Richard Phillips was very influential as a publisher in the transformation of the book trade and a key player in the emerging, more affordable popular science publications of the 1820s and 30s, this 1809 telescopic text is an early example.
7 5/8" X 4 1/2". iv, 128pp, complete in 14 plates, most fold-out. Marbled paper over boards with spine backed in black Morocco, lettered in gilt to a red leather title lable. Heavy edgewear to binding, with front exterior hinge repaired, crack starting to rear hinge at bottom, losses to marbled paper at edges and corners, hard bumping and rubbing to extremities, and small stain to rear board. Binding remains sound. Neat repaired tear to engraved fold-out frontispiece of The Solar System and to fold-out plates of the Pleiades and constellations as seen from the Northern Hemisphere, with occasional tiny neat tear at margin, fold, or blank spot to plates throughout. Dampstain to bottom corner of facing telescope plates (the only numbered plates, and that incorrectly). Plate of Herschel's 40 foot reflecting telescope rebacked at chipped right edge, with no apparent losses. Publication note cut off from fold-out plate of The Moon (likely trimmed for binding). Pages are toned and foxed throughout, else unmarked. Good +. Item #16555
Price: $385.00