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Lot 13
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Astronomer John F. W. Herschel ALS sending edits for his book, "A Treatise on Astronomy"
Astronomer John F. W. Herschel ALS sending edits for his book, "A Treatise on Astronomy"
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Description:

Astronomy

One page, 5” x 7.75”, [place is illegible], April 23, 1832. Mounted to a larger sheet of heavy stock to an overall size of 7” x 10.75”. Gently toned, with annotations in an unknown hand made in pencil. Accompanied by an engraving of Herschel, 7” x 10.25”.

Herschel is likely writing to his publishers: “I have Encd some slips in which Chap 9 of the Satellites is concluded & is succeeded (slip 147) by ‘Chap x. of Pertubations.’ This however is my 11th Chap and leads me to fear that the real Chap 10 (On Comets) has been mislaid or miscarried. Pray therefore cause search to be made and as soon as you are informed of the results communicate it.” Signed “J.F.W. Herschel.”

Herschel attained recognition in his field at a young age. He received his first Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1826, for scientific work completed with his father. Herschel’s approach to astronomy was revolutionary in his time. He originated the use of the Julian day system; and his inductive approach to theory and experiment had impact well beyond the areas of science he practiced in. He would receive the Gold Medal twice more in 1836 and 1840.

In this 1832 letter, Herschel is transmitting “slips”, or corrections, for his book titled A Treatise on Astronomy, which would be published the following year. The “2” in the year “1832” is truncated at bottom, but we are confident it is a “2”; as by 1837 Herschel was in South Africa. Treatise was published in a second and third edition in 1835 and 1839, with no major revisions.

The 1833 edition of Treatise included a chapter IX titled “Of the Satellites”, and as Herschel notes in this letter, chapter XI is titled “Of Perturbations”. No doubt Herschel and his editors were able to locate the correct chapter X, “On Comets”, as that is what was present in the 1833 printing.

Provenance: This item was recently discovered in an extra illustrated volume of “History of the City of New York” by Mary L. Booth, New York W. R. C. Clark, 1867. Originally two volumes, the monumental task of expanding the work to twenty-one volumes done by none other than Emery E. Childs, Esq. of New York City. In volume one of this work exists a lovely india ink drawing of Mary L. Booth, along with a notation”presented by her to E E C,” in pencil. Next to the title page we find an original letter of Booth to Childs dated April 4, 1872, “I am in receipt of your favor of the 4th inst., and am grateful to hear that you are taking the trouble to illustrate my History of the City of New York in the manner you describe. I shall be happy to see you, should you favor me with a call as I am usually in my office during business hours and should be pleased to facilitate your Enterprise by any means in my power.”

It is assumed that the book took several years to assemble, at which point, assumedly through Childs, it made its way to Senator Charles B. Farwell of Chicago, who took the seat of John A. Logan in 1887. Farwell had an extensive library that fortunately survived the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, having been housed in his Lakeside home. In the American Bibliopolist of November 1871, there is an article about the devastation to libraries caused by the tragedy. “Mr C. B. Farwell’s library is also fortunately far out from the city, at his country house, and is safe … The same remark will also apply to the extensive collection of books and curiosities belonging to Mr. E. E. Childs.” This establishes the Chicago connection between Childs and Farwell.

That these letters were preserved for over 140 years and having never been on the market for that period is remarkable on many levels. It is the state of being wedged in these volumes that also accounts for what is mostly the pristine state of preservation.

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