AN EXQUISITE COLLECTION OF EARLY ASTRONOMICAL PHOTOGRAPHS
PHOTOGRAPHS OF NEBULAE AND CLUSTERS
MADE WITH THE CROSSLEY REFLECTOR
Publications of the Lick Observatory, Volume VIII
By James Edward Keeler
Original 1908 Publication containing 70 Heliogravure plates. Near fine condition.
Description: James Edward Keeler PHOTOGRAPHS OF NEBULAE AND CLUSTERS MADE WITH THE CROSSLEY REFLECTOR ( Publications of the Lick Observatory, Volume VIII) Sacramento: Regents of the University of California, 1908, 9.5 x 12 in., 46 pp. introductory text and tables . 70 full page heliogravure plates.
Condition: Hardbound in pebbled cloth with gilt title on spine. Very inconspicous scuffs to edges of front and back cover. Spine title slightly faded. Otherwise in near fine condition-cover and interior clean, crisp, tightly bound, and unmarked throughout with all tissue guards present and in good condition. See photographs. This is an exceptional copy.
Information: A iconic book in the history of modern astrophotography, in the tradition of Isaac Roberts and E.E. Barnard. Keeler showcased the fine conditions at the new observatory on Mount Hamilton, along with the light-gathering and resolution provided by the new large-aperture reflecting telescopes to produce this fine set of images. Hard to find in such nice condition, it includes images of galaxies, planetary nebulae, HII regions, open clusters, and globular clusters. Contents include: a frontispiece of the Orion Nebula; A description of the Crossley Reflector of Lick Observatory; A List of Nebulae and Clusters Photographed; A Catalogue of New Nebulae Discovered on the Negatives; The Positions of Known Nebulae Determined from the Crossley Negatives; A List of the Illustrations; and the 70 plates, each with individual tissue guard.
Biographical Note: James Edward Keeler (1857 – 1900) was an American astronomer. He was an early observer of galaxies using photography, as well as the first to show observationally that the rings of Saturn do not rotate as a solid body. Keeler worked at Lick Observatory beginning in 1888, but left after being appointed director of the University of Pittsburgh's Allegheny Observatory in 1891. He returned to Lick Observatory as its director in 1898, but died not long after in 1900. On the 12th of June he died from a sudden stroke. His ashes were interred in a crypt at the base of the 31-inch Keeler Memorial telescope at the Allegheny Observatory. Along with George Hale, Keeler founded and edited the Astrophysical Journal, which remains a major journal of astronomy today. His observations with the Lick Crossley telescope helped establish the importance of large optical reflecting telescopes, and expanded astronomers' understanding of nebulae. After his untimely death, his colleagues at Lick Observatory arranged for the publication of his photographs of nebulae and clusters in a special volume of the Lick Observatory publications.
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