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[Juvenile] The Wonders of the Telescope. By the Author of “The Wonders of the Microscope”

Scarce early edition of this beautifully illustrated children's book. 12mo (144 x 89 mm): iv,5-156pp, with folding engraved frontispiece of the solar system and 13 further plates, most folding and all but two dated 1823. Of special note is the plate of Herschel's 40-foot telescope, constructed between 1785 and 1789 and shortly to be dismantled, in 1839. Original red quarter skiver, spine lettered longitudinally in gilt, marbled paper-covered boards. Neat gift inscription (dated 1898) to front fly leaf; recent book label of Stanley Scott, Chard, Somerset, to rear paste-down. Professionally refurbished and now presenting attractively: two closed tears to frontispiece skillfully mended with Japanese tissue, else tightly bound, with pages and plates remarkably fresh and bright. Darton H1605(2). Paul, Children's Book Business: Lessons from the Long Eighteenth Century. Osborne, p. 216 (for first edition). First published in 1805 and again in 1809, here issued by Quaker publisher William Darton. Sir Richard Phillips, a friend of Priestley and a fascinating figure in the Regency world of letters, published the first edition, and he may have been the author: Phillips founded a philosophical society whose activates included astronomical observations. The Wonders of the Telescope was recommended by educator Eliza Fenwick in her Visits to the Juvenile Library (1805), where it is described, on a visit to Tabart's bookshop, as "two [the other was The Wonders of the Microscope] of the most popular books in the shop" (cited in Paul, p. 91). N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).