Abrege D’Astronomie, par M. De La Lande, Lecteur Royal en
Mathematiques; de l’Academie Royale des Sciences de Paris, de celles de
Londres, de Petersbourg, de Berlin, de Stockholm, de Bologne, &c. Censeur
Royal. Nouvelle Edition, Revue Et Corrigee. A Amsterdam Chez Barthelemi Ulam;
M. DCC. LXXIV. 1774
Octavo,
5.0 x 7.75 in. First French edition.
[blank], [portrait], *[title], *2[title page], *3-8; **8, A-Z8, Aa-Ff8,
2[tables], 16 fold out plates, [blank]. Rebound back, original boards and some
edge bumping and cracking and abrasions, minor splitting at the first blank but
very tight otherwise. Clean and bright throughout with some of the usual ‘glue’
tracks on the first few and last few blanks, tables and diagrams are unique and
complete. A very nice and rare work. Reserved at $450.00, estimated value at $600 to $800. Calixbooks
Jerome de la Lande:
De La Lande
was a professor of some considerable depth and presence. This 1774 edition
contains diagrams of many of the instruments that de la Lande used in his
studies as well as a celestial map. Viewed by many of his contemporaries as one
of the leading scholars in celestial and mathematical modeling of the heavens
as well as the movements of the planets, moons and other celestial bodies, he
lectured broadly throughout Europe. (1732-1807), French astronomer, was born at
Bourg (department of Ain), on the nth of July 1732. His parents sent him to
Paris to study law; but the accident of lodging in the H6tel Cluny, where J. N.
Delisle had his observatory, drew him to astronomy, and he became the zealous
and favored pupil of both Delisle and Pierre Lemonnier. He, however, completed
his legal studies, and was about to return to Bourg to practice there as an
advocate, when Lemonnier obtained permission to send him to Berlin, to make
observations on the lunar parallax in concert with those of N. L. Lacaille at
the Cape of Good Hope. The successful execution of his task procured for him,
before he was twenty-one, admission to the Academy of Berlin, and the post of
adjunct astronomer to that of Paris. He now devoted himself to the improvement
of the planetary theory, publishing in 1759 corrected edition of Halley's
tables, with a history of the celebrated comet whose return in that year he had
aided Clairault to calculate. In 1762 J. N. Delisle resigned in his favor the
chair of astronomy in the College de France, the duties of which were
discharged by Lalande for forty-six years. His house became an astronomical
seminary, and amongst his pupils were J. B. J. Delambre, G. Piazzi, P. Mechain,
and his own nephew Michel Lalande. By his publications in connection with the
transit of 1769 he won great and, in measure, deserved fame. But his love of
notoriety and impetuous temper compromised the respect due to his scientific
zeal, though these faults were partially balanced by his generosity and
benevolence He died on the 4th of April 1807. Although his investigations were
conducted with diligence rather than genius, the career of Lalande must be
regarded as of eminent service to astronomy. As a lecturer and writer he gave
to that science unexampled popularity; his planetary tables, into which he
introduced corrections for mutual perturbations, were the best available up to
the end of the 18th century; and the Lalande prize instituted by him in 1802
for the chief astronomical performance of each year, still testifies to his
enthusiasm for his favorite pursuit. Amongst his voluminous works are Traite
d'astronomic (2 vols., 1764 enlarged .edition, 4 vols., 1771-1781; 3rd ed., 3
vols., 1792); Histoire Celeste franfaise (1801), giving the places of 50,000
stars; Biblio graphie astronomique (1803), with a history of astronomy from
1780 to 1802; Astronomic des dames (1785); Abrege de navigation (1793) Voyage
d'unfranqois en Italie (1769), a valuable record of his travel in 1765-1766. He
communicated above one hundred and fifth} papers to the Paris Academy of
Sciences, edited the Connoissance de temps (1759-1774), and again (1794-1807),
and wrote the concluding 2 vols. of the 2nd edition of Montucla's Histoire des
mathematique (1802).
See Memoires
de I'lnstitut, t. viii. (1807) (J. B. J. Delambre) Delambre, Hist, de I'astr.
au XVIII" siecle, p. 547; Magazin encyclo pedique, ii. 288 (1810) (Mme de
Salm); J. S. BaiHy, Hist, de I'astr moderne, t. iii. (ed. 1785); J. Madler, Geschichte
der Himmelskunde ii. 141; R. Wolf, Gesch. der Astronomie; J. J. Lalande, Bibl.
astr p. 428; J. C. Poggendorff, Biog. Lit. Handworterbuch; M. Marie Hist, des
sciences, ix. 35.