Book Details
Title: Through My Telescope
Author: W.T. Hay
Illustrator: W.T. Hay
Publisher: John Murray
Year: 1935
Impression/Edition: First Edition
Cover: Hardcover (No Dust Jacket)
Pages: 128
Dimensions:
Weight:
ISBN: N/A
Battle Scars:
Overall acceptable condition.
Outside:
The hardcover is intact. There clear fading to the boards at the spine and edges. Shelf wear to extremities (ends/edges/corners) including rubbing and crushing/bumping to edges/corners/ends of spine. Some spots of discolouration. Embossing on spine remains intact and legible.
The page margins (seen when book is closed) have foxing, particularly the top profile as pictured.
Inside:
The binding is firm and intact.
Inside the front and back covers there is tanning. There is an ex-libris name plate on the inside of the front cover as well as a book-seller's sticker down the bottom. On the fornt end page there is a small price inscription on the top right-hand corner as pictured.
The pages are clean and intact, with some discolouration to margins.
Don't forget to check the photos below for a visual and make sure you are happy prior to purchase. Happy to answer questions if there is information missing.
Book Content:
Introduction By Sir Richard Gregory -
"When it was announced in August 1933 that a remarkable white spot had been discovered by Mr. Will Hay on the planet Saturn, the newspaper press and the public generally were astonished to learn that the mirth-provoking schoolmaster of the variety stage should not only spend his leisure hours in his own astronomical observatory but also be able to get ahead of professional astronomers in an interesting observation. It is indeed unusual to be famous in two such widely separated spheres, yet Mr. Hay has achieved this distinction and has shown at the same time that the realm of astronomy, like that of any other branch of science, is open to everyone, without fear or favour.
Some of the most interesting discoveries in astronomy have, indeed, been made by non-professional observers, who may only be called amateurs if the term is rightly understood to mean people who take up a subject voluntarily, but not that their work is superficial or defective in the sense of being amateurish. Professional astronomers are so closely concentrated upon routine work that new celestial objects or phenomena are often first detected by voluntary observers. Most new stars - that is, stars which appear where no stars had previously been seen - and many new comets, have been discovered by amateurs who have attached themselves to astronomy for the pure love of studying the flowers of the sky, just as the flowers of the countryside win the attention of outdoor naturalists.
Mr. Hay has long been known among astronomers as an enthusiastic watcher of the skies who has intimate knowledge of the features of the planets and other celestial objects observable through telescope of moderate dimensions. The particular characteristic of this little book is its contact with what may be described as everyday observational astronomy. To the author, astronomy is not an arm-chair study but a province which has to be entered in order that its beauties can be appreciated, and to the knowledge of which is still possible for a devoted observer to make notable contributions. What he himself sees in some celestial objects is shown in the plates which illustrate the book, and what interests him in the whole heavens is described so simply that no reader can fail to understand it even without any mathematical or other scientific knowledge.
In recent years the great achievements of modern astronomy, and the remarkable conceptions to which they have given rise, have been presented in brilliant literary style by Sir James Jeans, Sir Arthur Eddington, and others. It is impossible to read literature of this kind without being impressed by the sublime views of the universe displayed in them; but most people are content to have their thoughts directed to such things and to remain spectators without themselves taking any active part in observational work.
Mr. Hay makes no pretence to deal with transcendental matters, or expound attractive speculations, but limits his descriptions to things which have come within his own experience. His book is thus a trustworthy guide to the starry heavens; its purpose will be achieved if it leads others to follow in the author's footsteps and to become observers, as well as possible discoverers, in the domain of astronomy.
R. A. Gregory."
Book Details
Title: Through My Telescope
Author: W.T. Hay
Illustrator: W.T. Hay
Publisher: John Murray
Year: 1935
Impression/Edition: First Edition
Cover: Hardcover (No Dust Jacket)
Pages: 128
Dimensions:
Weight:
ISBN: N/A
Battle Scars:
Overall acceptable condition.
Outside:
The hardcover is intact. There clear fading to the boards at the spine and edges. Shelf wear to extremities (ends/edges/corners) including rubbing and crushing/bumping to edges/corners/ends of spine. Some spots of discolouration. Embossing on spine remains intact and legible.
The page margins (seen when book is closed) have foxing, particularly the top profile as pictured.
Inside:
The binding is firm and intact.
Inside the front and back covers there is tanning. There is an ex-libris name plate on the inside of the front cover as well as a book-seller's sticker down the bottom. On the fornt end page there is a small price inscription on the top right-hand corner as pictured.
The pages are clean and intact, with some discolouration to margins.
Don't forget to check the photos below for a visual and make sure you are happy prior to purchase. Happy to answer questions if there is information missing.
Book Content:
Introduction By Sir Richard Gregory -
"When it was announced in August 1933 that a remarkable white spot had been discovered by Mr. Will Hay on the planet Saturn, the newspaper press and the public generally were astonished to learn that the mirth-provoking schoolmaster of the variety stage should not only spend his leisure hours in his own astronomical observatory but also be able to get ahead of professional astronomers in an interesting observation. It is indeed unusual to be famous in two such widely separated spheres, yet Mr. Hay has achieved this distinction and has shown at the same time that the realm of astronomy, like that of any other branch of science, is open to everyone, without fear or favour.
Some of the most interesting discoveries in astronomy have, indeed, been made by non-professional observers, who may only be called amateurs if the term is rightly understood to mean people who take up a subject voluntarily, but not that their work is superficial or defective in the sense of being amateurish. Professional astronomers are so closely concentrated upon routine work that new celestial objects or phenomena are often first detected by voluntary observers. Most new stars - that is, stars which appear where no stars had previously been seen - and many new comets, have been discovered by amateurs who have attached themselves to astronomy for the pure love of studying the flowers of the sky, just as the flowers of the countryside win the attention of outdoor naturalists.
Mr. Hay has long been known among astronomers as an enthusiastic watcher of the skies who has intimate knowledge of the features of the planets and other celestial objects observable through telescope of moderate dimensions. The particular characteristic of this little book is its contact with what may be described as everyday observational astronomy. To the author, astronomy is not an arm-chair study but a province which has to be entered in order that its beauties can be appreciated, and to the knowledge of which is still possible for a devoted observer to make notable contributions. What he himself sees in some celestial objects is shown in the plates which illustrate the book, and what interests him in the whole heavens is described so simply that no reader can fail to understand it even without any mathematical or other scientific knowledge.
In recent years the great achievements of modern astronomy, and the remarkable conceptions to which they have given rise, have been presented in brilliant literary style by Sir James Jeans, Sir Arthur Eddington, and others. It is impossible to read literature of this kind without being impressed by the sublime views of the universe displayed in them; but most people are content to have their thoughts directed to such things and to remain spectators without themselves taking any active part in observational work.
Mr. Hay makes no pretence to deal with transcendental matters, or expound attractive speculations, but limits his descriptions to things which have come within his own experience. His book is thus a trustworthy guide to the starry heavens; its purpose will be achieved if it leads others to follow in the author's footsteps and to become observers, as well as possible discoverers, in the domain of astronomy.
R. A. Gregory."
