Zur Geschichte der astronomischen Messwerkzeuge von Purbach bis Reichenbach, 1908 WITH Zur Geschichte der astronomischen Messwerkzeuge, 1914

Leipzig: von Wilhelm Engelmann. 1st Edition. EXTREMELY RARE FOLIO FIRST EDITIONS OF BOTH VOLUMES of Johann Repsold's massive and lavishly-illustrated reference work on astronomical instruments and the history of astronomy.

The volumes were issued separately, Volume I in 1908 and Volume II in 1914; together they house 323 plates of uncommon astronomical instruments and their components. Volume I is a detailed survey and analysis of the development of astronomy, including astronomers and instrument makers from the years 1450 to 1830. Volume II surveys the bulk of 19th century advancements, covering the years 1830 to 1900. Johann Adolf Repsold (1838-1919) was the son and grandson of two pioneering German instrument makers. "Johann Adolf Repsold's own designs contributed significantly to the progress of contemporary astronomy... He also wrote important biographical and technical works on the history of astronomy" (Dictionary of Scientific Biography, XI, p. 378).

Among the astronomers and instrument makers discussed and illustrated in these two volumes are: Ptolemy, Geber, Purbach, Regiomontan, Copernicus, Apian, von Hessen, Tycho Brahe, Kepler, Scheiner, Galilei, Hevel (Hevelius), Gascoigne, Picard, Auzout, Cassini I-IV, Romer, Flamsteed, Halley, Marinoni, Ramsden, Cary, Troughton, Reichenbach, Fraunhofer, J.G. Repsold, Ertel, Merz, Mahler, Pulkowa, Repsold & Sohne, Breithaupt, Starke, Pistor, Martins, Dad Mechanische Institut, Steinheil, Oertling, Meyerstein, Krille, Schroder, Nagel, Dollen-Brauer, Moller, Bramberg, Heyde, Fuess, Reichel, Pessler, Riefler, Jaederin, Gill, Gaultier, Wolf, Beck, Sterneck, Sterneck, Harzer, Hoppe, Troughton & Simms, Th. Jones, G. Dollond, Cary, Elliot, G.B. Airy, Ransome & May, Earl of Rosse, W. Spence, Nach Lassell, T. Cooke and Sons, Horace Darwin, Thomas Grubb, Howard Grubb, Gill, Browning, Gambey, Le Noir, Jecker, Silbermann, Arago, Foucault, Secretan, Eichens, Porro, Sechi, Salmoraghi, Brunner, Huetz, Jobin, Gautier, Talcott, Rogers, Roland, Alvan Clark & Sons, C.L Berger, Fauth & Co., Saegmuller, Warner & Swasey, Chandler, Fargis, Howe, Ritchey, Wadsworth, Perrine, and more. CONDITION & DETAILS: Leipzig: von Wilhelm Engelmann (1908). Leipzig: von Emmanuel Reinicke (1914). Two folio volumes, 13 x 10 inches (325 x 250mm). 323 magnificent astronomical plates. Volume I has been rebound in burgundy cloth over paper covered boards. Black morocco, gilt-lettered spine label. Ex-libris bearing only a small pictorial stamp on the title page of Johann Wolfgang Goethe University. Tightly bound, clean and solid. Near fine condition inside and out. Volume II has been rebound in black cloth over tan paper covered boards. Tightly bound, clean and solid. Near fine condition inside and out.