Contemplations on the Solar System

Nichol, J P.

Published by William Tate, Edinburgh, 1844

About this Item

Octavo. . Second edition. 2pp. ads, half-title,219pp., 16 full page, double paper or folding plates in color and in black and white with tissue guards present. As Glasgow's celebrated astronomer lectured in the United States in the 1840's, he slowly began to shift away from the nebular hypothesis theory. His brilliant descriptions captured the imagination of the literary public; particularly, Edgar Allen Poe, Thomas De Quincy, George Eliot, and Charles Dickens. In this volume he introduced a beautiful colored plate of the Great Comet of 1843 and in addition there are 15 plates of the moon and the planets. As he became ill, his physicians prescribed opium which led to an addiction. Toward the end of his life he wrote an autobiographical study of the power of the drug dependence and his cure. This volume has become scarce with all the original plates since they were often extracted for study of both the professional as well as the amateur astronomer. Bound in a modern black cloth, spine lettering gilt, endpapers renewed. Seller Inventory # 026103

Bibliographic Details

Title: Contemplations on the Solar System

Publisher: William Tate, Edinburgh

Publication Date: 1844