Pierre Puiseux, 1896

PUISEUX, Pierre Henri (1855-1928). Recherches sur l’origine probable des formations lunaires (caption title). [Offprint from: Annales de l’Observatoire de Paris. Mémoires vol. 22. Paris: 1896.]

Offprint issue, first edition of Puiseux's paper on the origin of lunar craters and an important precursor to his Atlas photographique de la lune. Puiseux and Maurice Loewy began taking photographs of the moon in 1894, using the large astrograph at the Paris Observatory. The first fascicle of their lunar atlas was published in 1896, with instalments continuing till 1910. The 15 images present in this paper are part of the same photographic project, "a collection of outstanding lunar photographs ... the Atlas would not be equaled until 1960, and some of the individual photographs have never been surpassed" (William Ashworth, for the Linda Hall Library "Scientist of the Day," 20 July 2022). This offprint issue, though without printed wrappers, can be distinguished from the journal issue by the different pagination and by the statement on page 64. OCLC record US Naval Observatory and Milan Catholic University copies only.

Quarto (300 x 228mm). Illustrated with 10 photographic plates with 15 images, one heliogravure and the rest collotypes; each with a printed glassine overlay naming the principal features (the heliogravure plate detached and laid in, small stain on first page). Partially unopened. Plain blue paper wrappers.