Lot #4: 1800s Astronomy Textbooks: David P. Todd (1897) & J. Dorman Steele (1875)

A compelling pair of late 19th-century American science textbooks focused on astronomy. Both volumes serve as marvelous examples of Victorian-era educational publishing, retaining their original cloth bindings and a wealth of intricate period illustrations. Book 1: A New Astronomy for Beginners (1897) • Author: David P. Todd, M.A., Ph.D. (Professor of Astronomy and Director of the Observatory at Amherst College) • Publisher: American Book Company (New York, Cincinnati, Chicago) • Copyright Date: 1897 • Key Features: This volume is highly sought after for its gorgeous visual supplements. It features a complete set of striking colored plates, including Plate I: Total Eclipse of the Sun (reprinted from Himmel und Erde) and Plate II: The Sun as Revealed by Telescope and Spectroscope by famed astronomical illustrator Étienne Léopold Trouvelot. It also retains its original multi-page fold-out star charts (Plate IV: The Equatorial Girdle of the Stars). Book 2: Fourteen Weeks in Descriptive Astronomy (1875) • Author: J. Dorman Steele, Ph.D. • Publisher: A. S. Barnes & Company (New York, Chicago, and New Orleans) • Publication Date: 1875 • Key Features: Part of Steele's celebrated "Fourteen Weeks" science series. This book includes a beautiful, intricate fold-out celestial constellation map in shades of teal and cream, located at the front of the book next to the introduction. It features a charming handwritten historical provenance inscription on the flyleaf: "Mary Greene, Florida, N.Y., Jan 31st 1876." • The Illustrators & Plates: The inclusion of work by Étienne Léopold Trouvelot in Todd's New Astronomy is a significant point of interest. Trouvelot was a French artist and astronomer whose late-19th-century lithographs are considered masterpieces of astronomical art. Collectors specifically hunt for textbooks containing his plates. • Author Prominence: • David Peck Todd was a highly influential American astronomer who designed several observatories and famously photographed the 1882 transit of Venus. • Joel Dorman Steele revolutionized science education in America by moving textbooks away from dry, purely mathematical treatises toward engaging, descriptive narratives designed to spark wonder in young students. • Publishing History: Steele’s Fourteen Weeks series was an absolute staple of the post-Civil War American classroom. Finding copies that still retain their delicate, oversized fold-out star maps completely intact—rather than torn out or heavily damaged by generations of students—is a distinct plus for antique book collectors. Pickup category timeslot {A}