Della specola astronomica & Praecipuarium Stellarum - photo 1
Della specola astronomica & Praecipuarium Stellarum - photo 2
Della specola astronomica & Praecipuarium Stellarum - photo 3

Della specola astronomica & Praecipuarium Stellarum

Starting price
$ 100
Auction dateClassic
19.10.2023 10:00UTC -04:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
USA, New York
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ID 1032757
Lot 105 | Della specola astronomica & Praecipuarium Stellarum
Giuseppe PIAZZI (1746-1826). Della specola astronomica de' regj studj di Palermo libri quattro. Palermo: Reale Stamperia, 1792-1794. [And:] –. Praecipuarium Stellarum Inerrantium positiones mediae ineunte seculo XIX ex observationibus habitis in Speculo Panormitana ab anno 1792 ad annum 1802. Palermo: Reale Stamperia, 1803.

First editions of two major astronomical works by Piazzi, discoverer of the first dwarf planet, Ceres. Guisseppe Piazzi was an Italian priest, mathematician, and astronomer who was selected by Ferdinand I of the Two Scicilies to establish the Palermo Astronomical Observatory in 1790. The first volume is his account of the observatory, along with a series of observations. The text describes the various astronomical instruments Piazzi had commissioned and assembled, the most famous of which was Jesse Ramsden’s altazimuthal circle, illustrated in the plates. The second volume is Piazzi’s masterwork, containing precise determinations of the coordinates and cataloguing the medial positions of over 6,000 stars. This catalogue was highly praised for its unparalleled accuracy and would be nominated for the Lalande prize for best astronomical work in 1803.Collates as copy held by Linda Hall Library.

Two volumes in three, folio (305 x 235mm). 4 engraved folding plates in Della specola astronomica, an engraved vignette on title and an engraved headpiece of the Ramsden altazimuthal circle in Praecipuarium Stellarum (scattered thumbing, mostly in vol. I). Contemporary gilt stamped mottled calf, gilt spine with red and green morocco cartouches, marbled endpapers, and silk page markers in the first volume (extremities chipped).
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
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